Kerry and Kay Danes
Encyclopedia
Kerry Arthur Danes and Kay Frances Danes are an Australian
husband and wife who were controversially arrested on 23 December 2000 by authorities in Laos
. The Danes were detained without charge in a detention centre in Vientiane, Laos for six months until formal charges were laid on 13 June 2001. On 28 June 2001, the Danes were taken to the Laotian Municipal Court in Vientiane where they faced trial and were convicted of embezzlement, destruction of evidence and violation of Laotian tax regulations. They were sentenced to 7 years imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation. On 6 November 2001 the Danes were pardoned by the President of Laos.
national, Julie Bruns, founded Gem Mining Lao PDR (GML) at Huay Xai
with Lao-born American, Somkhit Vilavong. They were granted a 15-year concession from the Laotian government to mine Sapphires. American citizen Lee Wolf and Australian Trevor "Ted" Doyle, through their company Pacific East Trading Co, had a royalty agreement with GML whereby gems from the Huay Xai mine were sold in Bangkok
but this was allegedly a cover for laundering money embezzled by Max Green
. Wolf and Doyle had also loaned $3.8 million of Green's money to GML. Following Green's murder in 1998 funding for the company ended and, through a series of share transactions, GML was acquired by Asia Sapphires Ltd. (ASL), which was floated on the Canadian stock exchange by Green's former partner, a disbared
Melbourne
lawyer named Gary Shugg who retained Jeppesen and his wife as executive directors. After failure to pay Jeppesen and Bruns a promised shareholding in ASL they both resigned and Shugg, prevented from open participation due to his disbarment in Australia, began a board take over through friends in London
claiming Jeppesen was mismanaging the company. Jeppesen and Bruns in reply claimed Shugg was illegally diverting millions of shares to a Liechtenstein
based company. During the dispute mine equipment was sabotaged and plant machinery was sliced up with cutting torches. On 28 May 2000, Jeppesen and Bruns fled to Bangkok, Thailand after being accused of stealing Sapphires and in August quantities of the missing gems turned up in nearby Chanthaburi
's gem market.
Soldier working on leave without pay from the Australian Defence Force
, was the Managing Director of a company [Lao Securicor] that provided security to over 75 foreign investors, including United Nations
, World Bank
, International Monetary Fund
, numerous Embassies, Hotels, Garment Factories and both domestic and international airports. He also provided security for GML.
Before he fled Laos, Jeppesen appointed GML's security chief, Kerry Danes, to handle all GML's affairs. Kerry Danes also cosigned a letter from Jeppesen accusing members of the Laotian government of corruption. Reporter Richard Hughes was to say later "in 20–20 hindsight, we can safely state something that even Danes would now agree to – this was not a good move".
In November 2000 Jeppesen and Bruns fled to Denmark
and the Laotian government convicted the couple In absentia
for misappropriation from GML, sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment and ordered them to pay US$31 million dollars and 10.1 million kip
in damages to the Laos Government. On 23 December 2000, Kerry Danes was detained and accused of involvement in the theft of 167 rough Sapphires and 3.2 kg of finished sapphires from a safe in the Vientiane
office of GML although it was to be another six months before he was informed of the charges. In January 2001, it was reported that Kerry Danes, was being held as a foreign agent by the Laotian secret police and would be charged with spying.
Hours after her husband's arrest, Kay Danes was detained at the Lao-Thai border. She was in the company of Australian Embassy officials who were attempting to evacuate Kay Danes and the couple's two children from the country. US$50,000 in cash was found in her possession, the payroll for wages and other expenses for her Thailand security company. According to the Danes lawyer, Ted Tzovaras the cash became a non-issue and was returned to the Danes at the court hearing of 28 June 2001 along with a further $98,000 that was frozen in the couple's local bank account. The couple were held without charges being laid for six months. Bjarne Jeppesen later said he believed Doyle had bribed Laos authorities to pursue the case against the Danes as a way to enhance the Doyle/Wolf/Shugg team's chances of winning control of the mine.
In September 2001, the Australian Government admitted to the Danes, in the presence of the Australian Embassy and Laotian Immigration officers, that the Danes were in fact, being held hostage. The Australian Ambassador made the following public statement on Australian national television: "It's very difficult for the Laotian authorities to accept that there's anything much wrong with a situation where people may take the rap for something that they didn't do. As they said to us on a number of occasions, 'if the Danes had been released, where does that leave us? How can we get the compensation for all the damage that has been done to the Laotian people over the years by Gem Mining Lao? Don't be too fussed about the connection between the Danes and Gem Mining Lao. The Danes are all we've got left.'"
. It was also shown that Bruns had presented the sapphires to the New Zealand Embassy on 24 January 2001 for verification of ownership. This submission was never referred to in the Laotian court. In the Laotian legal system no-one has ever been acquitted once charged. The Defence never argues that the accused are not guilty. The normal function of a Defence lawyer in a Laotian court is to argue mitigating circumstances and the extent of the defendant's co-operation before asking for clemency.
The couple were tried on 28 June 2001 in the Vientiane Municipal Court. The trial lasted five hours, their legal representation was not permitted to speak, no cross-examination of witnesses or allegations was permitted and the already typed judgment was delivered within 25 minutes. The Danes were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for embezzlement, destruction of evidence and tax evasion and fined $463,885 and 700 baht for the stolen property and $66,847 for the tax debt. The Danes appealed.
Evidence presented at the trial included a contract signed by Jeppesen, allowing the couple to sell the company’s property because GML owed the Danes money (sapphire
s owned by GML can't be sold without government approval) but the main evidence was that the Danes had opened a bank account, allegedly under a false company name (DP Protection Service Co), and the amount in the account was close to the claimed value of the stolen Sapphires.
negotiated a settlement. The Danes would drop their appeal and pay $1 million compensation in exchange for release. August 2001, a Laotian government official stated, "the Government was prepared to release the couple and a release should by no means be viewed as a pardon" as it would only be an exercise to smooth bilateral relations between Laos and Australia. The appeal failed while they considered the settlement and "in desperation" they signed the compensation bill. On 27 September 2001, the Australian Ambassador to Laos, Jonathan Thwaites, signed a "note" stating that the Australian Government would make sure that the Danes pay the fines and the Danes later signed the bail form accepting the court's verdict on 4 October. Kerry and Kay Danes were released on 8 October and placed under house arrest at the residence of the Ambassador but not permitted to leave the country. The Danes then requested a pardon with a promise to pay the fines.
On 6 November the Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone signed a decree pardoning the Danes by means of a third party note between two governments. The document was placed under the protection of National Security by the Australian Government and is not available to the public or to the Danes who have attempted to obtain a copy under the Australian Freedom of Information Act
. "I am delighted that Kerry and Kay Danes have been pardoned by Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone today," Foreign Minister Downer stated on 6 November 2001. The Laotian Government, who consider the compensation a civil matter separate from the criminal charges, received US$150,000 from Kay Danes as the initial payment against the agreed compensation as a sign of good faith. The Laos government has since condemned the couple for failing to meet the terms of their pardon, claiming the Danes failed to pay the fines and have "embarked upon a campaign against the Lao Government" by criticising their treatment in prison. Lao authorities stated that conditions in the prison were considered "good and suitable" considering the current social and economic development of Laos. To date it is understood that the payments have not been made despite high level protests from the Laos government.
At the time of the release, the Australian Government officials who were advising them said that the agreement was simply a diplomatic face-saving exercise. Alexander Downer stated the Laotian Government was given no guarantee that the Danes would pay the compensation nor would the Australian Government enforce payment. Laos officials said the couple agreed to admit guilt as part of the release deal but Canberra maintains the Danes did not admit guilt, and that they only acknowledged they had been found guilty by the Laotian court. http://articles.cnn.com/2001-11-07/world/australia.pardon_1_vientiane-laos-officials-reuters?_s=PM:asiapcf
Australian people
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
husband and wife who were controversially arrested on 23 December 2000 by authorities in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. The Danes were detained without charge in a detention centre in Vientiane, Laos for six months until formal charges were laid on 13 June 2001. On 28 June 2001, the Danes were taken to the Laotian Municipal Court in Vientiane where they faced trial and were convicted of embezzlement, destruction of evidence and violation of Laotian tax regulations. They were sentenced to 7 years imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation. On 6 November 2001 the Danes were pardoned by the President of Laos.
Background
In 1994, Danish citizen Bjarne Jeppesen and his wife, New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
national, Julie Bruns, founded Gem Mining Lao PDR (GML) at Huay Xai
Ban Houayxay
Ban Houayxay is the capital of the Lao province of Bokèo, on the border with Thailand....
with Lao-born American, Somkhit Vilavong. They were granted a 15-year concession from the Laotian government to mine Sapphires. American citizen Lee Wolf and Australian Trevor "Ted" Doyle, through their company Pacific East Trading Co, had a royalty agreement with GML whereby gems from the Huay Xai mine were sold in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
but this was allegedly a cover for laundering money embezzled by Max Green
Max Green
Max Green was an Australian lawyer who embezzled millions of dollars and was later murdered in Cambodia.-Early life:He was born in London, England and moved to Australia when he was 5 and grew up in Sydney...
. Wolf and Doyle had also loaned $3.8 million of Green's money to GML. Following Green's murder in 1998 funding for the company ended and, through a series of share transactions, GML was acquired by Asia Sapphires Ltd. (ASL), which was floated on the Canadian stock exchange by Green's former partner, a disbared
Disbarment
Disbarment is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking his or her law license or admission to practice law...
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
lawyer named Gary Shugg who retained Jeppesen and his wife as executive directors. After failure to pay Jeppesen and Bruns a promised shareholding in ASL they both resigned and Shugg, prevented from open participation due to his disbarment in Australia, began a board take over through friends in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
claiming Jeppesen was mismanaging the company. Jeppesen and Bruns in reply claimed Shugg was illegally diverting millions of shares to a Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
based company. During the dispute mine equipment was sabotaged and plant machinery was sliced up with cutting torches. On 28 May 2000, Jeppesen and Bruns fled to Bangkok, Thailand after being accused of stealing Sapphires and in August quantities of the missing gems turned up in nearby Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi ) is a town in the east of Thailand, at the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi district....
's gem market.
Kerry and Kay Danes Involvement
Kerry Arthur Danes, an Australian Special ForcesSpecial forces of Australia
Since 1941, the Australian military has raised a range of special forces and special operations units, which fall into four categories:# Commando units such as the Independent and Commando Companies raised during World War II, and the 1st Commando Regiment, the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian...
Soldier working on leave without pay from the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
, was the Managing Director of a company [Lao Securicor] that provided security to over 75 foreign investors, including United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, numerous Embassies, Hotels, Garment Factories and both domestic and international airports. He also provided security for GML.
Before he fled Laos, Jeppesen appointed GML's security chief, Kerry Danes, to handle all GML's affairs. Kerry Danes also cosigned a letter from Jeppesen accusing members of the Laotian government of corruption. Reporter Richard Hughes was to say later "in 20–20 hindsight, we can safely state something that even Danes would now agree to – this was not a good move".
In November 2000 Jeppesen and Bruns fled to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Laotian government convicted the couple In absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
for misappropriation from GML, sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment and ordered them to pay US$31 million dollars and 10.1 million kip
Lao kip
The kip "Currency Lao Kip") is the currency of Laos since 1952. One kip is divided into 100 att . The official name is: ເງີນກີບລາວ, lit. Other languages say: ; code: LAK; sign: ' or ', encoded .-Free Lao Kip:...
in damages to the Laos Government. On 23 December 2000, Kerry Danes was detained and accused of involvement in the theft of 167 rough Sapphires and 3.2 kg of finished sapphires from a safe in the Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
office of GML although it was to be another six months before he was informed of the charges. In January 2001, it was reported that Kerry Danes, was being held as a foreign agent by the Laotian secret police and would be charged with spying.
Hours after her husband's arrest, Kay Danes was detained at the Lao-Thai border. She was in the company of Australian Embassy officials who were attempting to evacuate Kay Danes and the couple's two children from the country. US$50,000 in cash was found in her possession, the payroll for wages and other expenses for her Thailand security company. According to the Danes lawyer, Ted Tzovaras the cash became a non-issue and was returned to the Danes at the court hearing of 28 June 2001 along with a further $98,000 that was frozen in the couple's local bank account. The couple were held without charges being laid for six months. Bjarne Jeppesen later said he believed Doyle had bribed Laos authorities to pursue the case against the Danes as a way to enhance the Doyle/Wolf/Shugg team's chances of winning control of the mine.
In September 2001, the Australian Government admitted to the Danes, in the presence of the Australian Embassy and Laotian Immigration officers, that the Danes were in fact, being held hostage. The Australian Ambassador made the following public statement on Australian national television: "It's very difficult for the Laotian authorities to accept that there's anything much wrong with a situation where people may take the rap for something that they didn't do. As they said to us on a number of occasions, 'if the Danes had been released, where does that leave us? How can we get the compensation for all the damage that has been done to the Laotian people over the years by Gem Mining Lao? Don't be too fussed about the connection between the Danes and Gem Mining Lao. The Danes are all we've got left.'"
Trial
In early 2001 the Danes' legal representation submitted a 317 page submission based on affidavits, forensic accounting, witness testimony and Laotian law. Evidence indicated that Kerry Danes did not have the key or combination to the GML safe from which the sapphires were taken and included documents showing that on 29 May 2000, Jeppeson telephoned the Laotian Manager and asked him to collect the jewelry and take it to them in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It was also shown that Bruns had presented the sapphires to the New Zealand Embassy on 24 January 2001 for verification of ownership. This submission was never referred to in the Laotian court. In the Laotian legal system no-one has ever been acquitted once charged. The Defence never argues that the accused are not guilty. The normal function of a Defence lawyer in a Laotian court is to argue mitigating circumstances and the extent of the defendant's co-operation before asking for clemency.
The couple were tried on 28 June 2001 in the Vientiane Municipal Court. The trial lasted five hours, their legal representation was not permitted to speak, no cross-examination of witnesses or allegations was permitted and the already typed judgment was delivered within 25 minutes. The Danes were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for embezzlement, destruction of evidence and tax evasion and fined $463,885 and 700 baht for the stolen property and $66,847 for the tax debt. The Danes appealed.
Evidence presented at the trial included a contract signed by Jeppesen, allowing the couple to sell the company’s property because GML owed the Danes money (sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
s owned by GML can't be sold without government approval) but the main evidence was that the Danes had opened a bank account, allegedly under a false company name (DP Protection Service Co), and the amount in the account was close to the claimed value of the stolen Sapphires.
Aftermath
After extensive political lobbying between the Australian and Laotian governments, Foreign Minister Alexander DownerAlexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
negotiated a settlement. The Danes would drop their appeal and pay $1 million compensation in exchange for release. August 2001, a Laotian government official stated, "the Government was prepared to release the couple and a release should by no means be viewed as a pardon" as it would only be an exercise to smooth bilateral relations between Laos and Australia. The appeal failed while they considered the settlement and "in desperation" they signed the compensation bill. On 27 September 2001, the Australian Ambassador to Laos, Jonathan Thwaites, signed a "note" stating that the Australian Government would make sure that the Danes pay the fines and the Danes later signed the bail form accepting the court's verdict on 4 October. Kerry and Kay Danes were released on 8 October and placed under house arrest at the residence of the Ambassador but not permitted to leave the country. The Danes then requested a pardon with a promise to pay the fines.
On 6 November the Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone signed a decree pardoning the Danes by means of a third party note between two governments. The document was placed under the protection of National Security by the Australian Government and is not available to the public or to the Danes who have attempted to obtain a copy under the Australian Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act 1982
The Freedom of Information Act 1982 is Australian Commonwealth Freedom of Information legislation which gives members of the public rights of access to official documents of the Government of the Commonwealth and of its agencies.-Outline of the Act:...
. "I am delighted that Kerry and Kay Danes have been pardoned by Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone today," Foreign Minister Downer stated on 6 November 2001. The Laotian Government, who consider the compensation a civil matter separate from the criminal charges, received US$150,000 from Kay Danes as the initial payment against the agreed compensation as a sign of good faith. The Laos government has since condemned the couple for failing to meet the terms of their pardon, claiming the Danes failed to pay the fines and have "embarked upon a campaign against the Lao Government" by criticising their treatment in prison. Lao authorities stated that conditions in the prison were considered "good and suitable" considering the current social and economic development of Laos. To date it is understood that the payments have not been made despite high level protests from the Laos government.
At the time of the release, the Australian Government officials who were advising them said that the agreement was simply a diplomatic face-saving exercise. Alexander Downer stated the Laotian Government was given no guarantee that the Danes would pay the compensation nor would the Australian Government enforce payment. Laos officials said the couple agreed to admit guilt as part of the release deal but Canberra maintains the Danes did not admit guilt, and that they only acknowledged they had been found guilty by the Laotian court. http://articles.cnn.com/2001-11-07/world/australia.pardon_1_vientiane-laos-officials-reuters?_s=PM:asiapcf
See also
- Australian Special Air Service RegimentAustralian Special Air Service RegimentThe Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR but commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army...
- List of Australians imprisoned or executed abroad
- Punishment in LaosPunishment in LaosIn the Laotian legal system no one has ever been acquitted once charged. The Defence never argues that the accused are not guilty. The normal function of a Defence lawyer in a Laotian court is to argue mitigating circumstances and the extent of the defendant's co-operation before asking for...
External links
- http://www.kaydanes.com
- http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/lao_sapphires.htm
- http://www.phaseloop.com/foreignprisoners/political_prisoners.html
- http://www.un.int/lao/5_sept_2002.htm
- http://www.maverickhouse.com/books/nightmareinlaos.php
- http://www.newholland.com.au/products/details.asp?id=9781741107579
- http://www.myaustralia.ws/danes/kd.pdf
- http://redland.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/kay-crusades-for-families-behind-bars/788561.aspx
- http://www.kerrianne.com.au/public_panel/todays_show.php?id=115
- http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA26/004/2002/en/dom-ASA260042002en.html
- http://media-newswire.com/release_1088730.html