El-Sayed a no-show in court…again

Hassan El-Sayed. He is a man with many questions to answer, first as one of those on trial in connection with the forgery of illegally sold passports, and more recently as the money broker who was given one-point-four million dollars of B.T.L. funds to change into U.S. and has yet to produce the cash. El-Sayed figures prominently in both criminal investigations, but it now appears that the Belize City businessman’s testimony may never be heard as this morning he failed to appear in the Supreme Court. This is not the first time El-Sayed has been a no-show for a court date and at his last appearance before Justice Adolph Lucas he was specifically warned about such behaviour and was told that his two hundred thousand dollar bail was on the line. That line is about to run out as today Lucas served notice that the man who posted the surety for El-Sayed must appear on October eleventh to say why the two hundred grand should not be forfeited. According to court records, that surety was pledged by one Haissan El-Batihish, a resident of King’s Park.

As for Hassan El-Sayed, not even his lawyer could say where he might be, although sources indicate to News Five that Lebanon is the most likely location. They also say that if the passport matter was his only problem, El-Sayed would still be here. But when he was identified as the man who received one point four million from B.T.L. C.E.O. Gaspar Aguilar and failed to deliver, it was time to exit. Hassan and Aguilar, it turns out, enjoyed a relationship that went beyond money changing. News Five understands that the two are partners in a shop on Queen Street named Mahal Al Hadea and Aguilar’s niece also happens to be El-Sayed’s wife. When we contacted Aguilar by phone this evening to ask if he knew where El-Sayed might be, Aguilar declined to answer any questions, saying that he could not get a fair hearing from Channel Five because of the station’s business relationship with Michael Ashcroft. Ashcroft, former B.T.L. Chairman and current kingpin, is believed to have played a major role in Aguilar’s dismissal from the company following the loss of seven point six million dollars given to El-Sayed and Dion Zabaneh and never accounted for. As for Zabaneh, we tried to find him today at his home in Belize City but were told that he was in Dangriga.