The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

LAWYERS for the government and those connected to the stalled Baha Mar resort met in the Supreme Court for a closed hearing before Justice Ian Winder on Wednesday, during which attorneys representing resort developer Sarkis Izmirlian were asked to leave the room because they had “no standing” to be party to what was discussed.

Amid speculation that the hearing concerned an application to sell Baha Mar, attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, declined to confirm or deny this, telling The Tribune he wants to be silent lest he give Baha Mar’s developer “ammunition to try to destroy this country”.

Mr Munroe represented the Gaming Board and the government during the hearing, while Deloitte & Touche, the court

appointed receiver, was represented by Brian Simms, QC, who declined to speak to The Tribune yesterday.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Munroe did not give details about what application was filed.

“Ferron Bethel, representing Granite Ventures (a company owned by Mr Izmirlian), talked (during the hearing about the application) being an application to sell Baha Mar. But when (Ron Sweeting, Baha Mar’s attorney) stood, the court said if it were an application to approve the sale of Baha Mar, since Mr Sweeting’s client is on record desiring to purchase Baha Mar, it would be unfair for either of them to remain in the room.”

Mr Munroe said he did not explain to Mr Izmirlian’s representatives what the application related to.

“Everyone is guessing about what the application was about,” he said. “They are maybe accurate or maybe inaccurate.”

For his part, Mr Sweeting told The Tribune he was not surprised to be asked to leave the hearing, nor does he believe the judge made the wrong decision in making him do so.

“We were not parties to it so I can’t say what application proceeded,” he said. “There’s a lot to suggest it was an application for approval of some sort of marketing process, not necessarily a sale of the company but how they would go about approving the sale of the assets. I was asked to leave because I still act for the equity shareholder of Baha Mar and my clients have expressed interest in bidding for Baha Mar. It would’ve been an unfair advantage for the bidding stage if I remained and I can’t say the judge was wrong in this but I’m a little disappointed not to have been allowed to remain.”

Mr Munroe, nonetheless, offered strong criticism for Baha Mar’s developer as he explained to The Tribune why secrecy was necessary in the matter.

“(They have) been destructive to the process,” he said. “They have engaged a number of people to vilify the Chinese, although they chose the Chinese to do business with; others they have engaged to vilify the government as being against them even though the first step the government did was in their favour.

“They have been selfish and done things for their own benefit, not for the national interest. No responsible person would let them have information that they are not entitled to when they have acted to the detriment of this country. So we won’t put information that people will use to be destructive out there, all while the country’s sovereign rating is at risk.”

Mr Munroe did not give The Tribune a specific date for when he believes Baha Mar could be re-mobilised and opened, instead echoing the government’s long held position: “As soon as possible.”

Baha Mar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US Bankruptcy Court on June 29.

However, in September, a US judge threw out the Chapter 11 cases for Baha Mar’s Bahamian companies.

On September 4, 2015 Edmund Rahming of KRyS Global, Mark Nicholas Cropper and Alastair Beveridge of AlixPartners Services UK were appointed as joint provisional liquidators and given the task of overseeing the company. In October, they received approval from the Supreme Court to make 2,020 Baha Mar employees redundant due to the resort’s insolvency.

On October 30, 2015 the EXIM Bank of China, Baha Mar’s secured creditor by way of its $2.45 billion mortgage debenture, obtained Supreme Court approval to appoint the Deloitte & Touche accounting firm as receivers for the troubled project.

Baha Mar was originally expected to open in December 2014.