Cuba Tries Canadian Businessman

Cuba Tries Canadian Businessman

June 16, 2014

by Café Fuerte



HAVANA TIMES — The trial of Canadian entrepreneur Cy Tokmakjian,

arrested more than two years ago on corruption charges in Cuba, has been

underway since June 9th in a Havana court and is expected to extend for

at least two weeks, said sources related to the case.



Tokmakjian, 74, is charged along with 16 others involved in the

operations of his company registered in Cuba, the powerful Tokmakjian

Group. The trial takes place behind closed doors, with limited access to

relatives of the accused.



The source said representatives of the Canadian Embassy in Havana

attended the hearings last week.



The trial ends a prolonged investigation for alleged bribery, tax

evasion, breach of contract and other commercial crimes committed by

Tokmakjian or his subordinates. The defendants could face sentences of

between eight and 15 years in prison.



Festering corruption case



However, the trial looks designed not only to solve one of the biggest

corruption cases involving foreign companies in Cuba over the last

decade, but also to find a solution to the difficult situation caused

the government of Raul Castro by the indefinite detention without

charges of Tokmakjian.



The businessman is the most notorious of the foreign executives who

remain under custody on the island, after the anti-corruption raids

unleashed by the Cuban regime since 2009. With the Foreign Investment

Act just days from taking force and the urgency of attracting foreign

capital to boost the ailing national economy, finding a solution for

this case seems most reasonable.



"I think at this point in time what Cuba least needs are detentions and

litigation with foreign businessmen and companies," a diplomatic source

requesting anonymity told CaféFuerte. "Having a businessman arrested for

two and a half years without charges is not very exciting to the ears of

investors."



In April 2013, the Cuban government officially canceled the operations

of Tokmakjian Group, one of the largest foreign firms that operated for

the last 25 years in Cuba, arguing violations incurred in their business

activities within the national territory.



Lawsuit in Canada



The Tokmakjian Group responded with a lawsuit against the Cuban

government, filed with the Superior Court of Ontario, Canada. The

complaint alleges that its assets were improperly confiscated and blames

the Cuban authorities for interfering in the business relations of the

company with its customers.



In September 2011, Cuban State Security agents occupied and sealed the

premises of the company on the fourth floor of the Miramar Trade Center

Barcelona building, in Havana. Tokmakjian was arrested and has since

remained in the prison for foreigners in La Condesa, in the town of

Guines, Mayabeque.



The move was accompanied by a letter from the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and the State Council, sent to Cuban companies, to stop all

trade with the Tokmakjian Group.



Based in Ontario, the Takmakjian Group was the second largest foreign

company in Cuba after Sherritt International. It sold about $80 million

annually in equipment for construction and mining.



The company was also the exclusive distributor of Hyundai in Cuba and

was associated with two other firms for the replacement engines for

transport equipment from the Soviet era.



Serious concerns



Through a statement issued this week, the Tokmakjian Group confirmed the

innocence of its chief executive and emphasized that at no time did the

company's operations violate Cuban law.



"The allegations and charges brought by the Cuban authorities against

Tokmakjian Group are completely unfounded, which the defense will

clearly demonstrate," said Lee Hacker, Tokmakjian family spokesman and

vice president of finance of the company.



However, Haker said that there are serious concerns about the lack of

due process, transparency and independence of the Cuban judicial system,

leading the family to fear that the trial's outcome is already determined.



The trial against Tokmakjian occurs exactly one year and one month after

another major Canadian entrepreneur, Sarkis Yacoubian, was tried and

sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of bribery, tax evasion and

activities harmful to the national economy. Yacoubian, who was detained

since July 2011, cooperated with the Cuban authorities and was released

last February, allowing him to return to Canada to serve the remainder

of his sentence.



Both businessmen of Armenian origin started their business in Cuba

together and later decided to separate. Tokmakjian signed his first

contract with the Cuban government in 1988.



In June 2013, the British businessmen Amado Fakhre and Stephen Purvis,

executive director and chief operating officer of the firm Coral Capital

until 2011, were also released after being held in prison for almost two

years and standing trial for corruption. It was never revealed if the

charges against them were dropped or if the court imposed a lesser sentence.



Source: Cuba Tries Canadian Businessman - Havana Times.org -

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=104320