The Tribune

ATLANTIS employees engaging in criminal behaviour are hurting the hotel, according to Kerzner International (Bahamas) president and managing director George Markantonis.

In the employee newspaper The Discoverer, Mr Markatonis is quoted as saying that cases of hotel employees breaking the law are “disappointing”.

He added that the security team is diligently working to combat theft and other crimes.

The paper recalled high-profile instances of theft at Atlantis by employees, including last September’s botched midday heist at Atlantis Casino, allegedly perpetrated by three former surveillance employees.

The men entered the casino’s main cashier’s cage in the basement at Coral Towers, spraying pepper spray or tear gas into the air, forcing the cage workers to run for safety.

The paper also referred to an alleged Ocean Club Estates “scam” which it said cost the company in excess of $50,000; another scheme in which Atlantis wristbands were being sold to taxi drivers, causing losses upwards to $75,000; and a “medical scam” which affected the hotel, local hospitals, and the National Insurance Board.

Mr Markantonis also told the paper there are other incidents currently under investigation.

He said: “These people are hurting us because in the end any bonuses we get, any metrics that are based on our compensation, are based on the property’s results.”

“The budget document given to us by our owners does not say we will take into account theft by fellow associates.”