The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An ex-Cabinet minister yesterday blamed US bankruptcy trustees for the plight of Blackbeard’s Cay’s dolphins as he had agreed to care being provided prior to their potential sale.

Damian Gomez KC, former minister of state for legal affairs, told Tribune Business he has “nothing to do” with the eight previous dolphin fatalities or conditions that the five survivors are enduring at the abandoned tourism project off New Providence’s north coast.

Despite confirming that he now owns 50 percent of the Blackbeard’s Cay developer, Blue Illusions Ltd, in a move that has received Supreme Court approval, he asserted that he “doesn’t own the dolphins” and has no desire or intent “of keeping additional pets”.

Instead, Mr Gomez argued that those outraged by the surviving dolphins’ plight, and the deaths of another six in the 12 months to February 2024, should direct their anger to the respective US court-appointed trustees for Blue Illusions’ previous owners, Samir Andrawos and Victoria Iglesias.

He explained that he had given both trustees, Lawrence Katz and Joel Tabas, his consent to provide the dolphins with the required food and medical care. And Mr Gomez said he had also agreed to the dolphins’ potential sale to a Mexican group that had expressed interest in purchasing them.

However, a dispute arose after Mr Katz said he wanted the proceeds from the dolphins’ sale to be paid into his client account. Mr Gomez said his response had been “hell no”, and that he wanted these monies paid into an escrow account in The Bahamas given that Mr Katz is still disputing his taking possession of Mr Andrawos’ 50 percent Blue Illusions stake to settle $1.25m in unpaid legal fees.

The former Cabinet minister, who yesterday voiced “surprise” at the Blackbeard’s Cay situation and eruption of negative publicity around it, said he had left the trustees handling the personal bankruptcies of Mr Andrawos and Ms Iglesias to look after the dolphins and had not spoken to them for “months”.

“I had given the US trustees my approval to sell the dolphins once the money was kept in an escrow account locally having regard to their position,” Mr Gomez told Tribune Business. “That was all I was saying. I wasn’t opposed to the sale, I wasn’t opposed to persons looking after the dolphins.

“I said to him [Mr Katz] that I was not opposed to him doing that. The reality is this should be sold. He entered into this arrangement with this other group that was willing to feed them and provide for them. I don’t own the dolphins. I spoke to the director of agriculture, Deon Gibson, and told him I’ve already indicated to the minister [Jomo Campbell] that the dolphins can be sold.

“I have no objection to it. The only thing I want is the proceeds kept in an escrow account having regard to the disputed position the trustee took. I didn’t really pay much attention to what they were doing. They had indicated they’d found someone willing to care for and feed the dolphins. I have no intention of keeping additional pets. I’m surprised by this. I have nothing to do with it.”

Court documents obtained by Tribune Business give some support to Mr Gomez’s account as they show the trustees for Mr Andrawos and Ms Iglesias obtained approval from the Maryland and South Florida bankruptcy courts, respectively, in early December 2023 to incur expenses associated with feeding and caring for the Blackbeard’s Cay dolphins.

A December 14, 2023, filing by Mr Katz revealed that a Mexican group, Delfiniti De Mexico, had submitted an “expression of interest” in acquiring the dolphins and had begun due diligence on a potential sale of the bankruptcy estate’s Blue Illusions interest after the two parties signed a confidentiality agreement.

As part of the deal, Delfiniti offered to fund the dolphins’ “up to $1,000 per day” care costs via a two-part deal. The Mexican group would cover these expenses during the due diligence period, with the agreement to be renewed every 15 days and a 15-day “notice of termination” period. And, if it decided to proceed with a sale, the funding would continue on a “longer-term” basis.

“The Chapter 11 trustee has been exploring various options related to the sale and monetisation of the debtor’s assets, including the potential sale of the debtor’s interest in Blue Illusions,” Mr Katz told the Maryland Bankruptcy Court, while admitting he and Mr Gomez are still disputing who owns the 50 percent stake previously held by Mr Andrawos.

“These efforts have been complicated by numerous factors, including the nature in which the membership interests in Blue Illusions are held (two separate bankruptcy estates in two different jurisdictions); difficulty obtaining records and information from Iglesias and the debtor; objections from third-parties in the Iglesias bankruptcy; the alleged fraudulent transfer of the debtor’s business operations on Balmoral Island; and the legal and political impediments in Bahamian law and assets located in The Bahamas.”

“Despite the fact that the Chapter 11 trustee is not the trustee for the assets of Blue Illusions, the Chapter 11 trustee has been very mindful of the care and well-being of the dolphins and other marine animals that are purportedly owned by Blue Illusions, and the Chapter 11 trustee has been assured by Iglesias and others that they are being fed and cared for,” Mr Katz continued.

“The Chapter 11 trustee has explored various options for the sale and/or donation of the marine-life, and has received an expression of interest from Delfiniti De Mexico, a Mexican corporation that has other similar business operations. Delfiniti has signed a confidentiality agreement, and has commenced due diligence related to a potential sale of the debtor’s interests in Blue Illusions and certain related assets.”

Mr Katz said he had been informed by Mr Tabas, as the Chapter seven trustee for Ms Iglesias in south Florida, that “the on-site veterinarian on Balmoral Island has been paying some or all of the expenses related to feeding the dolphins as Iglesias and/or her related family members and their business can either no longer pay the expenses or have elected not to pay the expenses.

“Tabas has requested that Iglesias provide weekly reports and accountings as to the expenses being paid, but such reports have not been forthcoming. Instead, Iglesias has haphazardly sent various copies of receipts and photos of expenses that she or her family and their related businesses are purportedly paying,” Mr Katz added.

“Accordingly, there exists a critical need to fund the payment of these expenses. Delfiniti has offered to funds these expenses (up to $1,000 per day) while it conducts its due diligence.” The deal to fund the dolphins’ upkeep and care was approved by both US bankruptcy courts in December 2023 but it is unclear whether it was implemented in practice given the condition of the surviving Blackbeard’s Cay dolphins.

The site for the Blackbeard’s Cay dolphin attraction is sub-leased from a Bahamian investor group, which included Cedric Saunders, the late Insurance Management chief; former Cabinet minister, the late Sir Charles Carter; and Abner Pinder. Mr Gomez yesterday confirmed that the property on Balmoral Island, located almost opposite Sandals Royal Bahamian resort, is leased from the Government.

A series of Bahamian Supreme Court rulings obtained by Mr Gomez in 2020 and 2021 permitted him to seize 50 percent of Blue Illusions’ shares, previously held by Mr Andrawos, and then sell this interest to recover the $1.25m debt owed to him from unpaid legal bills.

However, Mr Katz is challenging this by asserting that the half-ownership of Blue Illusions is the property of Mr Andrawos’ bankruptcy estate, and for the benefit of all creditors not just Mr Gomez. The trustee, who filed a legal action against Mr Gomez in the federal Maryland bankruptcy court, also alleged he was acting to prevent what was described as a “fraudulent and/or preferential transfer” to the former minister.

Mr Gomez yesterday reiterated that, as a Bahamian, the Maryland court has no jurisdiction over him. And he again pointed out that his appointment as The Bahamas’ ambassador-at-large to the Inter-American Council on Human Rights (IACHR) effectively gives him diplomatic immunity from being served with court proceedings and dragged into them.

“I actually own the shares [in Blue Illusions] by order of the court,” Mr Gomez told this newspaper. “I’m already out-of-pocket by over $1m. If they [the trustees] want me out they’ve got to pay me. If they want to dispute it, they have to keep the purchase price for the dolphins in an escrow account. If it’s in an escrow account they can’t say I’m trying to steal a march on them, and they can’t steal a march on me.

“He [Mr Katz] wanted this group to pay it into his client account. I said: ‘Hell, no. It should go into an escrow account in The Bahamas having regard to my interest. It would be one thing if they were releasing the claim to the shareholding. I wouldn’t have had a problem saying: ‘Go do it’. I could use the property for something else.”

Revealing that he has not spoken to Mr Katz “in months”, Mr Gomez added: “If the Americans want to act tough, they should be going to the Maryland court where the trustee was appointed and find out why the trustees are not looking after the dolphins.”