Former ASP Chief Executive Sentenced to 18 Months for R1.6 Million Fraud
VICTORIA, Seychelles — Marcus Simeon, the former chief executive of Air Seychelles’ ground-handling subsidiary, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Supreme Court on Monday for his role in the disappearance of R1.6 million from the company’s accounts. Justice David Esparon delivered the sentence in chambers, having heard submissions from both prosecution and defence earlier in the day. Simeon has been in custody since the early stages of the case.
The case centres on sums that went missing from the subsidiary’s books between 2019 and 2020, during a period when Simeon held the top operational role. He was suspended from his duties in September 2020 and formally charged with fraud several months later. Court records reviewed at sentencing showed that R66,000 of the missing amount had already been returned to the company before the hearing. Justice Esparon ordered that Simeon repay the outstanding balance within five years of his eventual release from prison.
The sentence brings a long-running investigation to a close, although the company itself has civil recovery options that remain on the table. Air Seychelles’ parent at the time of the disappearance, Etihad Airways, had been a minority shareholder; the Seychellois government has been the majority owner since 2021. The new ownership structure, and the tighter internal controls that came with it, was a recurring theme in the prosecution’s submissions on Monday.
Simeon was represented in court by counsel Basil Hoareau. In mitigation, the defence argued that Simeon had cooperated with the investigation and that the partial repayment showed genuine remorse. Justice Esparon noted both points in his sentencing remarks but concluded that a custodial sentence was unavoidable given the scale of the loss and the breach of trust involved. He also took into account that Simeon had held a position of significant responsibility in a strategic state-linked enterprise.
The Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles welcomed the verdict, describing it as a strong signal that senior figures in state-owned enterprises would be held to the same standard as any other public officer. The commission’s spokesperson said the case had taken longer than it should have, partly because of the difficulty of obtaining financial records from abroad, and that lessons had been learned. The court also ordered a 12-month review of Simeon’s behaviour, with rehabilitation programmes to be made available during the sentence.
