JAN 10

An attorney for French businessman Georges Cohen says he will begin legal proceedings soon in the St. George's High Court against Barrister at-Law Anslem Clouden and the GRENADA TODAY newspaper for defamation of character.

According to lawyer, Michael Sylvester the case against Clouden is related to a press conference he held in November questioning the whereabouts of the controversial French investor who is associated with the Calivigny Island.

This newspaper was specifically singled out by Sylester and not the others on the grounds that it allegedly failed to publish what the lawyer claim was a statement from Cohen denying that he or any member of his family were detained or arrested by international law enforcement agencies.

Cohen, the holder of a Diplomatic Passport is the Chief Executive Officer of Paradis Ltd, the company which owns Calivigny Island and Secret Harbour Hotel and Marina located at Lance Aux Epines in the south of the country. The French investor was in Grenada last week Friday at a press conference held at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort accompanied by a team of foreign lawyers to put straight what he called "all the lies made against him"...".

Sylvester told reporters that the article in the GRENADA TODAY newspaper purporting to be a statement made by Clouden a former Senator in parliament, is "a serious defamation" of Cohen's character.

"The fact that the allegations and statements made by Mr. Clouden, which were then repeated in other publications both in Grenada and world-wide, were all the more damaging as having come from a Senator and former president of the Grenada Bar Association ", the lawyer noted. Sylvester insisted this is not the first time Clouden has made what he called "unwarranted and vicious attacks" on his client saying that they were politically motivated.

The lawyer did confirm at the news conference that officers from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were in Grenada looking into what he labelled as matters of "a certain criminal nature".

However, he insisted that the FBI probe had nothing to do with his client but could well have targeted a person or persons making allegations about Cohen.
Sylvester contended that the attack on Cohen could among other things, restrict his client's ability to use his technological expertise and investment skills to assist Grenada in becoming a major player in the area of information technology.

He added that the attack on the investor was politically motivated, and indicated that the only way his client could get some form of closure is by letting the Court deal with the issue.

"The damages to be claimed will be sufficiently substantial to reflect the serious harm caused to Mr. Cohen in his personal and business capacity", he remarked.

The lawyer said that he was instructed to file suit in the High Court for defamation against Clouden and the publishers of his articles. Sylvester said that Cohen who is believed to be a multi-millionaire does not intend to accept personally any amount the court might award him but plans to donate the sum to local charity.