So, a second aircraft was chartered for him at a cost of US$1.425 million.
The extent of King Mswati’s lavish lifestyle has
been revealed in papers deposited at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice as
part of a business dispute involving a company called Inchatsavane.
Inchatsavane is registered at the King’s Lozitha State
Palace and King Mswati is described as ‘sole shareholder / owner’.
Inchatsavane is alleged to owe US$3.5 million for refurbishments
made to the King’s private DC-9 jet.
Repairs and modifications were made to the jet at a
cost of US$4.123 million before it was delivered to him in 2012. A company
called SG Air paid for the work on behalf of Inchatsavane. SG Air expected Inchatsavane
to repay it the money but, the court papers state, it did not.
The refurbishment of the jet took longer than
expected and King Mswati was without a private plane.
The court papers state, ‘In an effort to accommodate
Inchatsavane and HMK [His Majesty the King], SG Air attended to leasing an
alternate aircraft known as CRJ 200 VIP with 16 seats for a six-month contract
for $1,050,000.00.’
It added, ‘Around May 2011 Mr. Sihle [Sihle Dlamini,
the Director of Administration at the King’s Office and
Assistant Private Secretary to the King] advised SG Air that
HMK was not satisfied with the CRJ 200 as it only had one toilet on board and
was therefore very inconvenient. HMK rejected the CRJ 200 and accordingly
SG Air returned same to Emerald Jets. SG Air therefore attended to locating two
replacement aircrafts for Inchatsavane and HMK.’
The company then agreed a ‘replacement lease
agreement’ with Prestige for a Legacy 600 aircraft for the period 17 May 2011 to
16 October 16, 2011 for the total cost of $1.425 million.
SG Air also paid $778,000 for flight support services relating to the Legacy 600 aircraft.
SG Air also paid $778,000 for flight support services relating to the Legacy 600 aircraft.
The court papers also stated that by November 2014 SG
Air had not been repaid and following discussions with the King it was agreed that
Inchatsavane would pay US$3.5 million to SG Air as ‘full and final settlement’ of the cost
of the refurbishments.
By 16 December 2014 SG Air had not received any
funds from Inchatsavane or the King. As a result it obtained a court order in
Canada to attach the King’s DC-9 which was in Canada for routine maintenance
and the aircraft was impounded.
The DC-9 remains in Canada under order of the court.
See also
SWAZI
KING ‘REFUSED TO PAY JET DEBT’
SWAZI
KING’S JET HELD FOR UNPAID DEBTS
‘SWAZI
KING TO BUY US$44m PRIVATE JET’
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