The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest has fired back at tabloid “attacks” against his reputation and term in office, which he suggests is motivated by the Minnis administration’s dismissal of a private loan agreement.

His statement came after The Punch carried a front-page report and headline that contained several new allegations against the former Cabinet minister.

“Ever since the government of The Bahamas dismissed a private loan arrangement with a foreign finance firm in favour of an international bond offering, the bi-weekly tabloid, The Punch, has launched a relentless attack on me and the Ministry of Finance,” Mr Turnquest said in a statement yesterday.

“The rationale for the decision made, following extensive analysis by technical experts at the ministry, were fully and objectively explained in Parliament. Yet the personal attacks continue. One has to wonder why.”

“What motivates or is the publisher’s special interest in this particular transaction above all of the other financing transactions the government has issued since coming to office?”

Asked yesterday by The Tribune if he intends to bring court action against the tabloid, Mr Turnquest did not confirm or deny, but said he is going to defend himself.

“The front page story in today’s edition of the tabloid is a continuation of that attack,” Mr Turnquest continued in his statement. “The allegations contained in the article are false and completely misleading and I condemn and deny them in the strongest terms.

“Today’s attack article and false claims follow an equally damaging article printed in the Thursday, November 26, 2020 edition of the tabloid, which reported that I purchased two apartment units in Bayroc Condominiums, Nassau, Bahamas and received allowances from the government of $10,000 per month for living accommodation in said units.”

Mr Turnquest said the allegations were intentionally placed to cause public speculation, ridicule and to further damage his reputation and integrity. He said the allegations are equally false and easily disproved.

Last week, Mr Turnquest resigned from Cabinet nearly a week after the East Grand Bahama MP was named in a Supreme Court lawsuit relating to an alleged $27m fraud.

In a statement of claim, Alpha Aviation Limited and Advanced Aviation Limited alleged that Randy Butler and Mr Turnquest conspired “wrongfully and with intent to injure” their companies and/or “to cause loss to them by unlawful means and/or to enrich themselves.”

Plaintiffs alleged that Mr Turnquest and Captain Butler used “some 39 fraudulent invoices and/or book entries, and for no adequate consideration” drained away some $3.8m paid by Alpha Aviation to Aviation Oversight Group via 39 separate cheque payments between February 2008 and July 2016.

They claimed that a further $3.026m was also alleged to have been siphoned off “as at December 31, 2017”, to AOG Maintenance Ltd, a company that owned Sky Bahamas’ maintenance hangar at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Mr Turnquest was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit and maintains his innocence. His former Sky Bahamas partner, Captain Butler, has also said he is innocent of the accusations in the suit.

Last week, Mr Turnquest said he resigned in the best interest of his constituency and his party.

However he said he will discuss the circumstances of the allegations against him and those who perpetuated the claims at a later date.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was sworn in as interim minister of finance yesterday. Dr Minnis has said he will name a substantive minister of finance soon.