Libertas candidate in Czech Republic, Vladimir Zelezny, forced to pull out after conviction for fraud

Another of Declan Ganley's pals has been convicted of fraud. Vladimir Zelezny defruaded the Czech state. So much fro transparency accountability and an end to corrupt elites.
Libertas should be run out of politics. Among Ganleys corrupt pals were and are Ted Stevens and Liam Lawlor.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Libertas candidate convicted of tax evasion

JAMIE SMYTH in Brussels

CZECH REPUBLIC: LIBERTAS’S CAMPAIGN in the Czech Republic has suffered a setback following the conviction of one of its candidates for tax evasion.

The Prague High Court has confirmed a two-year suspended sentence with four years probation for sitting MEP Vladimir Zelezny, who is second on Libertas’s list of candidates. The conviction relates to the non-payment of VAT to the Czech authorities by Zelezny on the import of paintings by Emil Filla, Andrej Nemes and Alfred Justitz The Prague court confirmed the ruling of a lower court in the case on Monday, although it cancelled a five-million-crown fine handed down in an earlier ruling.

In a statement to The Irish Times last night, Libertas said that Zelezny would today tender his resignation as a Libertas candidate for the European Parliament elections to the council of the Libertas party in the Czech Republic.

Zelezny is a controversial figure in Czech politics and was founder of the country’s first commercial TV station in the early 1990s. He has been embroiled in multiple legal actions for 11 years in cases involving tax evasion and the sale of the TV station. He could not be contacted yesterday for comment.

Declan Ganley moved his main business concern to the West Indies in 2005 and refuses to answer any question regarding using tax shelters

The Irish Times Public Affairs correspondent Colm Keena has another report on Declan Ganley and his strange business affairs. Ganleys face is plastered on billboards across Dublin this week in a completely disingenuous ad campaign which states that Ganley has a proven record of job creation juxtaposed with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen. It would appear that Ganley expects people to believe that he has created and/or could create jobs in Ireland. He admitted to BBC Hardtalk that he only employs "a team" in Ireland. This blogger surmises that that "team" includes his Libertas employees like John McGuirk and David Cochrane of Politics.ie.

Ganley has since 2005 availed of a tax haven in the West Indies for his Rivada Networks. This would seem to have preceded the multi million dollar US Defence contracts that Rivada Pacific received on a no competition basis. By moving his concern off shore he has ensured that the Irish people do not share in his "windfalls". Ireland has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the EU which Mr. Ganley could have availed of but rather than pay 10% corporate tax to the Irish state he claims to love he took his cash elsewhere.
Irish voters in the North West constituency for the European Union should bear this in mond when the enter the ballot box on 5 June.
Ganley has created a tiny handful of jobs in Ireland over the decades and all related to his running a business that is now off shore or a political party that claims to want greater transparency, accountability and democracy.

Rivada funded the early Libertas by employing Naoise Nunn and David Cochrane to work on creating the brand. It is ironic that a company supplying US Defence interests with communication interests and operating from an off shore location helped create a political movement that has the support of nationalists, far right groups and libertarians across Europe.

This is all too weird for words. Like much else in Ganleys history and something that he acknowledged to Jason O'Toole of the Hot Press , if it was in a novel it would be hard to believe. Sadly the Ganley story is all too real.

Ganley through his spokesperson refused to answer questions yet again.

Ganley moved his stake in Rivada to West Indies

FILINGS IN the Companies Registration Office (CRO) in Dublin show that Declan Ganley’s interest in his Tuam company, Rivada Networks, was transferred to a West Indies company in December 2005, a short time before the Tuam company became a subsidiary of a US company based in Colorado.

The Colorado company is involved in large telecommunications contracts in the US with a range of public organisations including the military. However, the profits arising from this business cannot be ascertained.

Mr Ganley, who is a candidate in the upcoming European elections, was asked by way of a spokesman for his party, Libertas, to provide comment on the filings but declined to do so. The auditors of his companies accounts, Michael Cuddy Co, Athlone, Co Westmeath, did not return a call.

Filings in the CRO for a company called Ganley Corporate Management Ltd show that Mr Ganley held the two issued shares in the company up until December 31st, 2005, when they were transferred to Golden Bay Holdings Ltd, with an address in Nevis, in the British West Indies.

In February 2006 a form B5 was lodged with the Revenue Commissioners Capital Taxes Division and forwarded to the Companies Registration Office, having been stamped by the Revenue capital duty section. This form stated the shares had been allotted to the Caribbean company.

Mr Ganley has in the past said that he used Ganley Corporate Management for the development of business projects.

The annual return for the year to May 16th, 2006, for Rivada Networks Ltd, which is based in Mr Ganley’s home in Tuam, Co Galway, show its 100 issued shares were owned by Ganley Corporate Management Ltd as of the end of that period. The company was incorporated on November 11th, 2005. On that basis, it appears the company was owned by Ganley Corporate Management, and through it by Mr Ganley, up to the end of 2005, when ownership was transferred to Golden Bay Holdings in Nevis.

The Rivada Networks accounts for the year to December 31st, 2006, say the company is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Rivada Networks LLC, of Aeroplaza Drive, Colorado.

It is not known when this company was incorporated and the date when the Irish company became its subsidiary is not given in the accounts.

The accounts also state that the directors of the Tuam company, Declan Ganley and James O’Reilly, had no interest in the shares of the parent company at the beginning or end of the 2006 year.

The various accounts filed by Rivada Networks, Tuam, indicate little by way of commercial activity by the company. Its accounts continued to state that neither Mr Ganley nor Mr O’Reilly had any interest in its US parent up to October of last year, when Mr Ganley was asked about the fact. He declined to comment, but a week later a new set of accounts for the 2007 year was filed in which it was stated that the two men did have an interest in the US parent. However, the accounts for earlier years have not been amended.

The new 2007 accounts state that the Rivada group was restructured during that year. On March 1st, Rivada Networks LLC became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rivada Networks International LLC, of Delaware, as did Rivada Networks of Tuam. The accounts state that Mr Ganley had a 45.902 per cent shareholding in Rivada Networks LLC at the outset of 2007, and a 43.2071 per cent shareholding in Rivada Networks International at the end of the year.

Mr O’Reilly’s shareholdings went from 4.1966 per cent of the original parent at the outset of the year, to 4.1422 per cent in the new parent at the end of the year. It is not known who else has shares in Rivada other than Mr Ganley and Mr O’Reilly.

The statement that Mr Ganley had no interest in the parent company of Rivada Networks at the time when it was apparently owned by Golden Bay Holdings is in keeping with the filings for Ganley Corporate Management Ltd. The accounts for the year to the end of 2007 state he had no interest in the company’s parent and the annual return for the year to September 2008 shows Ganley Corporate Management is still owned by Golden Bay Holdings.

Declan Ganley refuses to come clean on his use of off shore companies

Declan Ganley whose Libertas Party Ltd. claim to stand on a platform of openness and transparency has refused to discuss his use of offshore companies which are commonly used to avoid paying taxes in countries like Ireland. In many cases the nature of the businesses is also unclear and ganley also refuses to discuss that. Ironically Ireland has one of the lowest rates of corporate tax in the EU yet Ganley seems to be avoiding paying even that into the Irish coffers .

How ironic it is that just this week Ganley has pitted himself against the Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen claiming Cowen is personally responsible for job losses in Ireland in a billboard advertisement. The billboards claim Declan Ganley has a proven track record in creating jobs. What about proven record of paying tax in Ireland? Would that not help preserve and create jobs here in Ireland?

While it is undoubted that Ireland is suffering record job losses in the past year, it is also clear that Cowen's party presided over a period of unprecedented employment in Ireland. What is unclear is how may jobs Ganley has ever created. We are aware of the jobs he has created in his political party but outside of that it is virtually impossible to compare Cowens record with Ganleys as so much of Ganley's business is secretive.

What is clear from Colm Keena's story in today's Irish Times is that Ganley has used off shore registrations in tax havens that amy allow him to avoid both the normal scrutiny that would apply in the EU and to avoid paying taxes in Ireland.

How patriotic is that? Is that how he recommends Ireland and Irish companies behave in the midst of a severe fall in tax revenue which is having a dramatic effect on Irish jobs and public services?

As nearly 5000 US troops and personel have been killed in US Wars on Terror Ganley's companies Rivada Pacific and Rivada Networks are still servicing US military contracts. WAre his profits from his war efforts helping the people of Ireland in their hour of need as Ganley avails of his off shore tax shelters?

Ganley is running in the North West constituency in Ireland on a platform that attacks the EU and policies like the common Agricultural Policy and claims to promote accountability and transparency. Perhaps he should explain to the voters of the West of Ireland why he avoids being transparent about his tax affairs from businesses he runs from Tuam, Co. Galway.

Ganley silent on offshore firms

COLM KEENA, Public Affairs Correspondent

THE LIBERTAS candidate in the North West in the upcoming European elections, Declan Ganley, has declined to comment on his use of offshore companies.

A company based at his home in Tuam, Co Galway, is owned by Golden Bay Holdings Ltd, with an address at Morton House, Charlestown, in the British West Indies.

The shares in Ganley Corporate Management Ltd were formerly held by Mr Ganley but were transferred to the West Indies company in 2005, filings in the Companies Registration Office show.

Mr Ganley has said previously that he uses the company for the development of business projects. The 2007 accounts for the company say Mr Ganley does not have an interest in the company.

The last filed annual return of a UK company called Capital Route Private Hire Ltd, shows the majority of its shares were held by Golden Bay Holdings Ltd.

The company was part of a failed project of Mr Ganley’s to set up a quality car hire service in a number of European capitals. It is now dissolved.

The annual return for the year to January 2007 shows more of the company’s shares were owned by Ganley Corporate Management Ltd. Mr Ganley was a director of Capital Route and is a director of Ganley Corporate Management Ltd.

In the late 1990s Mr Ganley was a director of a UK company called Delderway Ltd, the shares of which were owned by Southern Gulf Holdings Ltd, with an address at Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The purpose of the company is not known. It is now dissolved.

A brother of Mr Ganley’s wife, Delia Ganley (née Paterek), is a director of an Irish company called Delcoast Ltd, with an address at Clonberne, Co Galway. James Paterek, with an address in Planome, New York, is a director of the company along with a builder, Michael McHugh, of Clonberne. Neither Mr Paterek or Mr McHugh could be contacted.

Delcoast’s annual return for the year to May 2008 states it is owned by Golden Bay Holdings Group Ltd, with a registered office in the Isle of Man. The company’s accounts are audited by Michael Cuddy Co, Athlone, auditors to Mr Ganley’s Irish companies and to The Libertas Institute Ltd.

The accounts for the year to the end of December 2007 show the company had shareholders’ funds of €15. The accounts state that neither of the directors had an interest in the company and that it owns a dormant Isle of Man company, Rowanmore Ltd.

The annual return states that Mr Paterek was a director of US companies Cape Success, Comforce Corporation, and Lasting Connections.

Asked for a comment on Golden Bay Holdings and the use of offshore companies, a spokesman for Libertas said Mr Ganley would not be commenting on the matter.