Month: November 2016

Arrests have come quickly in Belgium in the residency permits for sale scandal. These include an 86-year-old businessman, Pierre Salik, described as the ringleader of a group of Belgians, possibly as many as 12, who are alleged to have paid three members of Monaco’s Public Security service – two now retired – to issue and renew residency permits gained under false pretences.
The police also seized a large sum of money this week, according to the Belgian Federal Prosecution Service. Salik’s lawyer has said that his client, retired from the textile industry, is “shocked” by the allegations, which he denies.
In Monaco, an investigation has been opened into corruption, fraud, abuse of confidentiality and money laundering.
Article first published November 23, 2016.
READ MORE: Belgians denounced for fraudulent residency permits by Monaco’s Public Prosecutor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUydlDLBNI
Aveillant, the radar technology company based in Cambridge, UK, has announced the operational deployment of its Gamekeeper drone detection radar in Monaco. This is the first operational drone surveillance system to provide coverage over an extended urban and coastal environment with a single sensor, the company says. The radar forms part of the full counter-UAS system provided by Monaco-based JCPX Development.
The Gamekeeper radar is designed to detect targets down to 0.01m2 cross-section, the size of a small consumer drone, and has a range of up to five kilometres. Aveillant’s unique technology does not scan across an area as traditional radar does, but continuously floodlights a volume of space, gathering 3D position and motion information from all targets, all of the time. Whilst the exact parameters of the technology are confidential, Aveillant’s unique approach allows detection and tracking capability beyond what is possible with other radars.
Following prototype testing in Monaco earlier in the year, the production unit successfully completed site acceptance testing and full commissioning in October. Positioned one kilometre from the coast, the radar monitors airspace above a large majority of the principality, including above the Stade Louis II, the harbour-side heliport, and out to a range of five kilometres over the sea.
David Crisp, Aveillant CEO, said: “We’re thrilled to have the system operating in Monaco, and have proved our spectacular performance. When you see a live track of these tiny aircraft 5 km away reported in real time and in full 3D, it brings home the power of Aveillant’s radar.”
Speaking for JCPX Development, Chairman Jean-Chistophe Drai said: “Gamekeeper forms a central part of our comprehensive counter-UAS system, which also includes cued infra-red cameras and countermeasures. We have already run a number of highly successful demonstrations with the system here in Monaco, and are receiving global interest as the use of UAVs continues to grow.”
There is increasing concern about drone incursions into unauthorised areas, including airport approaches, major sporting events, areas around nuclear facilities and other critical infrastructure. There is also a growing recognition that use of drones for valid commercial reasons, such as parcel delivery, is likely to become commonplace, and non-cooperative primary radar tracking of small UAVs is likely to be a requirement as part of the new air traffic control infrastructure. It is estimated that by 2020 the market for drone detection systems globally will exceed $11 billion.  (Source: Aveillant)
Article first published November 23, 2016.

Every Christmas in Monaco is heralded in true charitable fashion with the Ecumenical Kermesse, which once again will be held in the Fontvieille Chapiteau, this year on Saturday, December 3. Entrance is free and the doors open from 10 am to 6 pm.
There will be over 25 stalls including clothes, books, CDs, DVDs, antiques, Christmas decorations, Monegasque, Greek and British speciality stands, plus jewellery, household items, shoes, bags, gifts and novelties.
This year’s Tombola has over 20 prizes and tickets are just €2 each. The Snack Bar is open all day with a wide selection of delicious and inexpensive food and drinks.
Money raised will go to the charitable work of La Société de Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Paul’s Church, the Eglise Réformé de Monaco,
British Association of Monaco, La Communauté Espanagnole, and La Paroisse Grecque Orthodoxe.
For more information, especially for donation of items, contact Merville Spiers on +377 93 15 02 89.
Article first published November 20, 2016.
READ ALSO: St Paul’s gets a new lift

On the sidelines of the second meeting of the European Patent Office online users’ days, being held in Monaco from November 24 to 25, the Principality, represented by Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, and the European Patent Organisation, represented by the President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, have signed a working agreement that will bring the two sides closer.
Users of the patent system will be able to request, on the filing of a national patent application, a research report from the European Patent Office and a written opinion on patentability, the whole of which is indispensable for knowing the legal value of an invention.
This signature clearly shows the will of the Prince’s Government not only to support companies in their policy of growth and innovation, through the provision of a powerful new legal tool, but also to continue the process of modernising its national office for industrial property law initiated in 2010.
It’s also an opportunity to highlight the close relations between the European Patent Office and the Principality of Monaco, which have steadily increased in recent years with the first official visit by its President in September 2013, and that of its Senior Director for European and International Cooperation, François-Régis Hannart, in November 2015, on the occasion of which a bilateral cooperation plan was signed to develop the activities of the national office in Monaco.

A one-day strike on Italian railways will have a significant knock-on effect on the local TER service to Monaco Monte-Carlo from points east during Friday, November 25, French train operator SNCF has warned.
Many trains travelling through Monaco from Nice will terminate at Menton Garavan, just short of the border, or at Rocquebrune Cap Martin, before travelling back through Monaco. Traffic will be affected between 6:14 am and 5:31 pm. The Italian strike will therefore have serious implications for daily commuters trying to come to the Principality from Ventimiglia and beyond.

Monegasque Marc Mandel, 44, has been convicted of the murder of 39-year-old Pierre Torregrossa, the father of a seven-year-old boy, after an investigation lasting more than five years. The killing took place on October 7, 2011, in Roquebrune, as Mr Torregossa came to collect his child for a weekend visit.
The court in Nice heard that Marc Mandel shot and killed Mr Torregossa with a hunting rifle loaded with buckshot. Sophie, the mother of the child, was living with Mr Mandel at the time of the murder.
An intriguing aspect of the case is that since the killing, Mandel has spent only four months in detention, a fact attributed during the trial to his friendship with a number of local police officials and possible connections with local freemasons, an allegation that was neither proven nor dismissed after eight days of debate. Video footage was not seen by investigating officers, the court heard. Advocate General Fabrice Karcenty said the police dossier had astonished him, and he had gone from one surprise to another.
The court was told that leading up the killing the couple had prevented the natural father from exercising his right of access.
The jury were convinced that Marc Mandel, described in court as an automotive expert who worked in a business established by his father, deliberately killed Pierre Torregrossa, and despite a call from the prosecutor for him to spend 20 years in jail, he was sentenced to serve 12 years for the killing of a father who was described by friends and family as “jovial” and “loving”.