By Chantalé Fletcher
A LIQUOR licence was issued to Adrian Scoon for the MV Ocean Pelican by the Customs and Excise Division without the approval of Minister of Finance Colm Imbert.
The licence has since been deemed null and void and an investigation launched into the matter.
This was stated in a release on Friday by Imbert minutes after Opposition Senator Wade Mark raised the issue at a press conference.
In the release, Imbert said he did not approve the special licences to the Ocean Pelican and or Scoon that were circulating on social media.
He said, “To the contrary, being aware of the current prohibition on party boats, when asked to approve the special licences last month, on November 5, 2021, the Minister queried the permissibility of the request in the context of the current Covid-19 Public Health Regulations.”
Imbert said upon his query, the request to approve the licences was withdrawn.
He said, “These licences have since been deemed by the Customs and Excise Division to be null and void as no directions for the issuance of same were given by the Minister of Finance.”
Imbert said, “The irregular and unauthorised issuance of these special licences is now under investigation.”
The release also attached a copy of a memo from the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance dated December 3, 2021, to the Comptroller of Customs and Excise stating that approval for the licence has been deferred until the legislative changes to facilitate the request were made.
There was also a copy of a letter from Customs and Excise dated December 30, 2021 to Scoon stating that the Special Restaurant Licence and Special Licence were withdrawn.
One hundred people were arrested and later released pending investigation after they were held on board the Ocean Pelican on Boxing Day. Beaches are closes every day from 12 noon as part of the measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The operation of party boats was also prohibited under the Public Health Ordinance.
Scoon has said that he had sought advice from Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and also wrote to Minister of Health on the issue to have his boat operate as a floating restaurant.
