ABSTRACT
René had a lengthy infatuation with international organised crime. The attraction flowered into links with US, Italian and African organised crime groups. The relationship grew amidst a retreat from Mancham's Western links, unrest at home, and financial and economic pressures arising from his regime's direction. The Gambino organisation had been a criminal entity in New York since before World War I. By the 1980s it was regarded as one of the ‘five families’ that constituted the broader New York mafia, the others being the Genovese, Lucchese, Bonnano and Colombo organisations. René's agreement to the establishment of the Seychelles Trust Company had precedent. Small island territories or decolonised states have frequently attracted carpetbaggers preying on the revenue stress of often inexperienced political leaders newly responsible for their country's economic health. In 1984 René gave him spurious diplomatic accreditation in Seychelles as ambassador of a group purporting to be the Order of the Knights of Malta.
