The Irish Times – Friday, June 29, 2012
PAUL CULLEN on Tortola, British Virgin Islands
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0629/1224318967813.html
CLAIMS OF cult activity in an oil company with links to Irishman Tony Quinn led to his involvement in training staff being downplayed, a court here has heard.
Belize Natural Energy decided it would only “add fuel to the fire” sparked by negative press coverage to refer to Mr Quinn’s involvement in providing what were described as Educo mind seminars for local staff, chief executive Dr Gilbert Canton said.
Mr Quinn had formerly been well known in Ireland as a much-publicised commercial yoga practitioner.
Dr Canton said that after the government in Belize sought to increase its tax take on oil revenues, a vicious media campaign started to “bring down” BNE’s Irish directors, Sheila McCaffrey and Susan Morrice, nicknamed “Sally and Susie”.
The company did not want to make this more of a problem than it was by being linked to Educo and members of a perceived cult, he said. He denied Educo was a cult, but said it was being portrayed as one in the press in Belize.
Dr Canton was giving evidence in a case taken by Ms McCaffrey against BNE and its holding company, International Natural Energy, and Ms Morrice and Mr Quinn. She alleges company funds are being misused. Mr Quinn is a director of INE, but not BNE.
BNE paid Mr Quinn’s companies $718,000 for providing Educo seminars since 2007, the court heard, as well as $665,000 for establishing Educo gyms in Belize.
There is no specific reference to the seminar payments in BNE’s financial statements or in the training plans submitted to the government of Belize, barrister Frank Walwyn, for Ms McCaffrey, told the court.
One of the reasons BNE did not provide details about Educo in the training plan was that it did not want to associate training in the company with “this cult”, Mr Walwyn claimed.
Dr Canton said this was not the case. There was nothing to hide or keep secret. Forty staff had been trained and the beginner seminars had proved to be a useful tool in helping productivity.
Mr Walwyn said when Mr Quinn gave a seminar for members of the Belizean government in 2007, some had left because it was “hokey stuff”. Dr Canton said some people had left depending on their duties and obligations but he never heard people saying they had not liked the seminar.
INE paid Dr Canton bonuses totalling $318,000 between 2009 and 2011 in addition to his normal salary, the court heard.
The case is due to conclude today with final submissions from lawyers for both sides.
Filed under: Tony Quinn Tagged: | CLAIMS OF cult activity in an oil company
Well well well we really have heard it all at this stage. It is not surpising after all these people will lie their way through the proceedings, Final submissions should be interesting. Has anyone any idea when this will end?
It will only end when Quinn has been put away and his followers finally realise what he really is.
It would seem that money talks when it comes to Tony Quinn’s sole purpose of spreading his influence through his seminars as his whole emphasis is on increasing his profile rather than working on behalf of INE and it’s shareholders. With his record of hypnotising people to work long hours for nothing, or practically nothing, it presents a frightening picture of a zombie like work force who are in a trance state. I have seen some of his workers in Ireland in a trance state while doing their job. It is a waste of time trying to get their attention. The explanation for this, when I enquired, was very unclear. It was conveyed by the ‘top brass’ as some kind of special healing state or being totally focused at what they were doing. In some situations this could prove dangerous.
If this practice were allowed to gain hold in ordinary business’s there would be an uproar as is the case with Boylesports. Why was it allowed in Belize?
Very enlightening Angie.Its possible members don’t know they are in a cult as mind control techniques are refined over time and people are recruited at a low point in their lives. Members are so busy with meetings and activities that they too tired to think about their involvement.
Quinn,THIEF of hearts, souls,minds,bodies and pockets will be hoping his MAGICAL powers will kick in now.
It frightens me how easy it is for the likes of Quinn to ‘switch’ people and his ‘top brass’ revel in how easy it is to keep them in line. They want to appear omnipotent, and if a nasty situation arises, they are not slow to use blackmail to reinforce their control (a feeling of invasion of privacy has crept into Boylesports).
Being in a trance state can cut people off from a natural tendency to defend themselves. Their ability to react is slowed down unless trained to do otherwise. When someone is ‘spaced out’ it’s easier to control and manipulate them. It has nothing to do with their level of intelligence although I can understand why people would judge them as their thinking is distorted when the likes of Quinn gets a hold of them.
It will be a hard fall for many when the ‘spell’ is broken and the shareholders who were duped into saying nothing will see those who stood up to Quinn in a very different light.
The fudging of Irish Investors money that is rightfully theirs is disgraceful in this case. It is clears there are layers of payments filtered out below the line. How often on seminars does Quinn talk about the left hand the right hand and moving expenses to avoid taxes. He has avoided his taxes by moving to the Bahamas, but it is clear from these court proceedings that large volumes of work on the oil company INE were done from Hicks Tower in Malahide. Therefore Mr Quinn what exactly is the position on your taxes and your avoidance of them.
Like everything about this man he is a sham and now a disgraced liar and cult leader. The revelations of the court in Tortola continue and signal what is to come. The full exposure how this dangerous cult works and the manipulation of so many people along the way. The manipulation turned to abuse at so many levels.
For all those who have spoken loudly and clearly about this abuse they are vindicated by these revelations
“The case is due to conclude today with final submissions from lawyers for both sides.” (29 June)
Can anyone inform us as to the outcome?
We have been informed by our court correspondent that the judge will give his judgement at the end of this month or September.
Thank you for the information. You may not realise how many people are awaiting the judgement. Your forum helped us to watch the story unfold and hear the other side of it.
The money that Qunn got from the oil company as noted above is only a fraction of the income from this group of vulnerable people. The revelation that he exchanged an additional 17,000 plus shares in lieu of seminar payments also shocked the court this was an additional $6 Million of seminar fees. (about € 4.1 Million) was talked about I am told from a person present at the court.
In addition to the security payments of nearly $2 Million the rape and pillage of the oil company continues. What about all those investors and the amount the paid Quinn as well Millions more from people who thought this was a project about doing good. Now we see this is a project about lining the pockets of Quinn, and those who support him.
The exposure brought by this case in the BVI and the ‘life of hell’ extolled on Sheila McCaffrey by Quinn and his cult, exercised by those running the company which appear more and more under the control and influence of Quinn is a revealing truth.
The coverage by Paul Cullen has been good, bringing this centre stage in factual way to the readers worldwide. I am sure much more went on at the court, more will leak out as time goes by.
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