A former executive at Monaco-based Unaoil will not be extradited to the UK to face corruption charges, according to a report by MLex, the reputable media outlet specialising in financial coverage.
A court official allegedly told MLex that Prince Albert rejected a request by UK fraud prosecutors to extradite Saman Ahsani, Unaoil’s former commercial director, following an “adverse opinion” from Monaco’s Court of Appeal. The ruling can’t be appealed, a court official said.
The allegations against Mr Ahsani were not liable for criminal prosecution under Monaco’s laws at the time they were alleged to have occurred, the official added. The decision was made on February 28, but had not been made public until now.
Mr Ahsani has not been charged with any offence and has denied wrongdoing.
The UK had opened a criminal probe into Unaoil to investigate suspected bribery, corruption and money-laundering two years ago following allegations in the Australian press.
The Government has issued a statement to reassure residents following the oil spill in Portier Cove on Monday, March 26.
The oil leak from the Minar Sinan was limited to just 15 litres and was “BioBar 68”, a biodegradable type. The oil spread thinly on the surface, covering about 800 square metres.
The company Jan De Nul, owner of the ship, brought two boats from the company Eco Tank to eliminate the problem, and the task was completed around 4:30 pm on March 27.
The Directorate of Maritime Affairs noted the disappearance of the iridescence on the water, and water quality control samples were taken by the operators on March 27 and 28 in the late afternoon.
Cesare d’Amico, ABS Italian National Committee Chairman, and Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO, in Monaco. Photo: eagle.org
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) held its annual Italian National Committee meeting in Monaco this week, bringing together more than 50 maritime industry leaders.
The group discussed global challenges facing the maritime industry, as well as an evaluation of strategies to meet the IMO’s 2020 Sulfur Cap and a look ahead to 2030, when vessel data is likely to play a significant role in the compliance regime.
This is the first time in more than 60 years that ABS – which has offices in Genoa and stations in La Spezia, Leghorn, Trieste, Naples, Bergamo and Brescia where it supports marine and offshore projects – held its Italian National Committee meeting in Monaco, demonstrating the organisation’s strong ties with ship owners across both countries.
The committee heard about the industry-leading safety milestone ABS accomplished in 2017, reaching one year without a work-related lost-time incident, which exemplified its global focus on safety.
ABS also presented its innovative work with industry partners and academia on data and digital technologies designed to improve the delivery of classification services for clients. There was an update on the Bureau’s groundbreaking work in the cybersecurity arena, and guest speaker François Cadiou, President of BRS Group–Luxembourg, gave an overview of the shipping and shipbuilding market.
“With the fast pace of technological development, it is a powerful advantage to have such depth of experience and knowledge to inform the development of solutions and services,” said Cesare d’Amico, CEO of D’Amico Società di Navigazione SpA, and ABS Italian National Committee Chairman.
“The extensive input from industry leaders that the Committee makes possible is a highly valued resource.”
French supermarket chain Monoprix, which is part of the Casino Group, will start selling some of its food and household products to Amazon Prime customers in Paris later this year, a move that seems likely to set off a rush of similar alliances and in-house online distribution.
Jean-Charles Naouri, President of the Casino Group, said: “Through this unique partnership between Amazon and Monoprix, the Casino Group is reinforcing its omnichannel distribution strategy and getting even closer to its customers and their needs.”
Frédéric Duval, Country Manager at Amazon.fr, underlined, “This commercial partnership, which further enriches the selection of Prime Now service, will enable our Amazon Prime customers to benefit from extremely fast delivery times on Monoprix product orders. ”
Monoprix will offer between 5,000 and 10,000 products, ranging from national and international brands to its own label (Monoprix, Monoprix Gourmet, Monoprix Bio, La Beauté Monoprix) and set the fixed prices. Orders will be prepared in the store’s stores, and Amazon will provide express delivery.
Leclerc also announced a home delivery service in Paris on the same day, which the company said was in response to the Monoprix-Amazon move.
The French retail market has lagged behind other countries in adapting to the possibilities of online ordering. Meanwhile Amazon had been looking for nearly a year for a partner in food retailing in France.
Over the last decade, Private Equity as an asset class has grown in importance for families. We wanted to examine some of the most important factors behind this trend, whether this is likely to continue and the alternative strategies open to families in accessing this asset class.
So why are families increasing their exposure to Private Equity? While every family is different, we see the following as the most common themes driving this trend:
Higher returns: in an environment of low interest rates, Private Equity has achieved an average annualised return of 12% to 15% net per annum, or circa 500bps above public equity markets.*
Long-time horizons. Private investments (PE, VC, distressed securities) were the three best performing asset classes over the past 10 years outperforming all public equity and bond indices.*
Shared entrepreneurial spirit: families often identify with the ambition and aspirations of business owners, understanding their needs, concerns and long-term goals.
Long term partner: unlike most Private Equity Funds, families invest for the long term and can be more pragmatic regarding exit timetables and growth strategies generally. This makes families an attractive investor class for many business owners and has led to families competing aggressively and successfully for direct Private Equity investments. (* Source: Nevastar Finance, an FCA registered Private Office in London, Geneva and Luxembourg)
Although much is changing from a global political and economic perspective, we expect the growth in Private Equity investments by Family Offices to continue.
Governments and politicians across the globe are encouraging entrepreneurs, fiscal and tax incentives are pushing capital towards private businesses, advancements in technology are accelerating and people are generally more willing to take greater control of their destiny by starting and creating their own businesses.
These trends strongly suggest the momentum behind Private Equity will continue for the foreseeable future and in such an environment, family money is increasingly attractive.
We therefore anticipate allocations to Private Equity from Family Offices to increase both due to its propensity to provide a higher economic return and because families understand the market and its participants.
How do families expose themselves to Private Equity? Exposure to Private Equity can be achieved through two main routes.
Historically, the most popular route has been through funds and limited partnerships. The challenge with funds is identifying the best managers, gaining access to those funds that are often difficult without a substantial investment, and gaining attractive co-investment rights. Although a relatively passive approach in nature, it’s perfectly valid and is pursued successfully by many families globally.
Increasingly, however, families are looking to take greater control of their investments by investing directly or in partnership with specialist Private Equity firms. Families are now recruiting some of the best talent in the industry and competing directly with the established Private Equity investors and funds. While this latter approach requires greater effort and commitment, it will appeal to certain families and the rewards may be substantial.
How to allocate to Private Equity We appreciate the importance of Private Equity as a distinct investment class and have developed a process for investing in Private Equity that achieves the following key objectives:
Provide access to proprietary investments originated or identified by us.
Assist clients in reviewing and investing in deals that they originate or receive directly.
Assist on allocations to Private Equity funds and limited partnerships.
Ensure the process for investing in deals is robust and the reputational risk to our clients is minimised.
Strategy for providing clients with access to Private Equity and Due Diligence Given Private Equity deals are characterised by high returns but also high risk, we have established a stringent process for looking at Private Equity investments.
On the funds side, we work with our partners to identify funds that provide above average returns and gain access for clients within these fund structures. We aim to identify new, smaller funds where the returns can be higher, carrying out a thorough review of their approach, performance and process.
These individual funds will be used to enhance and compliment our core approach.
On the direct investment side, we will source Private Equity deals from our network and having carried out our own internal due diligence, work with our regulated partners who will arrange funding for the deals from our clients and other investors as required.
Article first published July 20, 2017. Mark Estcourt is CEO of Cavendish Family Office in London. For more information, see cavfo.com.
Monaco Open for Business: Serge Pierryves,
Director of Monaco’s Business Development Agency
ML: Tell us about your professional background. SP: After getting a degree in Marketing and Communication, I started work, at the end of the 1980s, at the fashion house of Christian Lacroix in Paris, to help the designer’s partner. A few years later I joined the Monegasque Administration in the Tourism and Congress Department where I was appointed as Deputy Director in 2002. In 2006, as I was eager to take on a new challenge, I was given the position of Deputy to the Administrator of the State Property Authority, before becoming Director for Housing in 2008. I have been in my current position of Director of the Business Development Agency since 2010.
ML: Can you provide a few facts and figures about the Business Development Agency (Direction de l’Expansion Economique)? SP: The Agency has a staff of 36. Last year, 1370 files for company creation and modification were dealt with compared to 1307 in 2016.
ML: Please explain the role of the Business Development Agency (BDA). SP: The Business Development Agency was created by Sovereign Order in 1996 and modified in 2011. It consists of the Monaco Business Office, or the Front Office, and two functional centres of expertise: the General Administration, or Back Office, and the Intellectual Property Office.
The Business Development Agency is responsible for: • Examining and providing administrative support for applications for the creation of new businesses and amendments to existing businesses
• Maintaining the Trade and Industry Register
• Following up court cases that come under its area of responsibility, as well as dealing with proposals to update legislative and regulatory provisions in force, and, if necessary, draft new legislation
• Monitoring business activities
• Examining applications, granting and monitoring financial aid programmes for businesses
• Issuing intellectual property rights certificates and registering on national registers.
The Business Development Agency is also entrusted with: • Creating, maintaining and optimising relationships and contacts with all local professional and business partners
• Participating in prospection and economic development operations organised by the appropriate bodies.
ML: There other four other divisions – Business Start-up, Business Monitoring, Legal Services and Trade and Industry Register – which fall under the Business Development Agency. Can you provide an overview of these? SP: The Business Start-up Division is made up of a team of six and is mainly in charge of processing applications for setting up new businesses or changing existing businesses.
As part of its policy to attract business, the Government of the Principality has recently streamlined the administrative procedures, with applications for authorisation being processed through a circuit of electronic validation. In the next few years, applications will be able to be made online.
The Business Start Up division is also in constant contact with local professionals and guides them in the implementation of their projects.
The Business Monitoring Division is made up of six staff. It’s responsible for checking and on-site auditing (company turnover, registered offices, balance sheets and investigations), for processing requests for transferring a company’s head office and for temporary work permits, as well as for monitoring the hotel commission.
It is also in charge of organising and monitoring commissions whose judgement is required before any administrative sanction.
The Legal Services Division centralises the work of the person in charge of legal affairs related to the Business Development Agency’s area of activity. It formulates proposals for updating the legislation and regulations in force, and, if necessary, drafts new texts. It also deals with matters relating to insurance companies (agreements, transfer of portfolios) and appeals.
Over the past few years, the division has been working on redesigning and developing the “Espace Entreprises” website for businesses and to simplify and streamline procedures of the Trade and Industry Register.
Made up of a team of four, the Trade and Industry Register Section maintains the official register, as well as the special register of civil companies and the register of goodwill pledges.
Since 2011, the section has also taken charge of the simplified formalities for filing with the registry and the relevant publications in the Journal de Monaco. Electronic procedures will be developed in the coming years.
2017 JCEM breakfast discussing financial tools for businesses in Monaco with Minister of Economy.
ML: When a business applies to open in Monaco, how is the Agency involved in the process? SP: For certain types of companies, foreign nationals and Monegasques citizens wishing to undertake a business activity in the Principality of Monaco must apply for authorisation or make a declaration to operate depending on the nationality of the business partners concerned and on whether the activity is subject to regulation. Certain activities, such as giving legal advice are not regulated but are subject to authorisation regardless of the applicant’s nationality.
Regulated activities are those for which: • The law or regulatory text determines the conditions of access – such as academic qualifications, professional experience, financial conditions, or conditions for the establishment, such as approval.
• The law or regulatory text determines the conditions of operation or exploitation, for example, an antique dealer is required to establish and maintain a register recording the identity and address of the sellers as well as the quality and price of the objects for sale.
ML: What are some common misunderstandings potential businesses have when applying? SP: One of the most widespread beliefs is that the granting of authorisation is dependent on the presence of someone with Monegasque nationality. In fact, the criterion of nationality only comes into play under certain conditions.
ML: What financial aid packages are available to new businesses in Monaco? How do you determine which applications should receive funding? What is the timeline? SP: The creation of new businesses in Monaco is encouraged through two specific programmes each with its own conditions of eligibility:
• Aid for setting up a business
• The “Pass StartUp Program”, which is linked to the MonacoTech Startup Program.
ML: Are there financial aid packages available also to existing businesses in Monaco? SP: The Business Development Agent directly manages or intervenes more or less directly in a number of financial aid or investment support programmes, such as Investment Support, Financing Innovation, Financing Exports and Support for Marketing Development Activities. This support is available for all businesses of the Principality, according to certain criteria of eligibility.
Other support, relating to, for example, employment, or the environment, is also available, but this is not managed by the BDA.
ML: How does the Direction de l’Expansion Economique monitor business activity in the Principality? SP: This mission is carried out by our dedicated team of six. In fact, an additional member was recently recruited to strengthen the team as a result of the introduction of new, simplified procedures for setting up a business. The team follows a defined roadmap to target certain sectors of activity that are considered sensitive and which are generally identified the moment the company is created.
The team conducts audits and examines all the relevant information about a company. It also oversees, on a day-to-day basis, that companies comply with their accounting obligations and ensures that companies have a head office that is adapted to their activity. In addition, it carries out regular monitoring of companies that are domiciled in business centres.
ML: What information is available to the public about businesses registered in Monaco as part of the Trade and Industry Register? SP: Information about the corporate and commercial name of a company, its address, and the identity of the manager or administrator of the company is accessible to the public.
ML: Can you share any trends you are seeing in new businesses opening in Monaco? SP: Over the past few years, we have seen the emergence of companies being created in the field of new technologies. Monaco has witnessed many initiatives in Fintech, Biotech and Greentech.
ML: On April 25, 2017, following the signing of the Agreement in Monaco in November 2016, a ratification was signed between Benoît Battistelli, President of the European Patent Office and HE Berro-Amadei, Ambassador of Monaco in Germany, to allow cooperation on research, an important step in helping patent applications. Regarding Monaco’s Intellectual Property Authority (Division de la propriété intellectuelle), how many applications a year does Monaco receive? SP: The management of copyrights is the responsibility of the Department of the Interior. For the year 2016, 4867 international brands were registered – 54 percent registered from a Monaco-based holder, 17 percent from the US and 10 percent from France – compared to 4,764 in 2015.
Sectors of activity of Monaco’s national brands: publicity; business management; commercial administration; office work (8 percent); education; training; entertainment; sports and cultural activities (7 percent); Scientific apparatus and instruments (6 percent); clothing, footwear, headwear (6 percent); cleaning products (5 percent); paper and cardboard (5 percent).
Pharmaceutical products, telecommunications, scientific and technological services and research, and insurance services (financial and real estate business) each represent four perecent.
The top patent activity sectors in Monaco include Medical Sciences (33 percent), Organic chemistry (26 percent), micro-organisms (9 percent), electrical communication (3 percent), metrology-testing (3 percent) and handling packaging (2 percent).
ML: Who are some of the Business Development Agency’s business partnerships? SP: Concerning the processing of authorisation application files, we work with all the administrative services. We are also in permanent contact with the local professionals such as accountants, legal advisors, lawyers, notaries and bailiffs. And finally, we collaborate closely with the Judicial Services department for registrations and delistings.
ML: How do you work with the Monaco Welcome Office? SP: The Monaco Welcome Office works from within the Business Development Agency to provide a quality and personalised support service for business creators.
ML: What is the key message the Business Development Agency would say to businesses considering opening in Monaco? SP: Monaco undeniably has many assets that are conducive to the development of a professional activity. The Principality occupies a prominent place in the heart of Europe and thus has an international dimension, home to nearly 140 different nationalities on only 2sqm. The country has great political stability, optimum security for property and for people and a quality education system. Monaco’s calendar of sporting and cultural events is another major asset. To all this must be added a local administration that is dynamic and attentive.
To sum up, the Principality of Monaco represents the serene alliance between a high quality of life, creativity and entrepreneurship. I believe that few places are able to offer such a combination of positive factors.
