The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE 

Tribune Chief Reporter 

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell dismissed corruption allegations involving Christie administration officials during the Baha Mar saga as “salacious,” saying no proof had been provided to support the accusations.

In a video sent to The Tribune, he sought to downplay the verdict of New York Judge Andrew Borrok, who awarded Sarkis Izmirlian $1.6bn in damages and interest over his fraud and breach of contract claim against China Construction America (CCA). 

Mr Mitchell had accused Mr Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s original developer, of promoting a narrative that does not align with the facts.

He urged the public to be cautious in their commentary about the ruling and advised Bahamians to be “sceptical” about anything that arises concerning the judgement.

“It is unfortunate that you have an investor having lost an investment, largely by what happened out of his own hand, now seeking to ascribe blame to others, but the main issue for us is The Bahamas government has no liability which arises out of this. Baha Mar is safe as an investment,” he said.

“And then lastly, all of the salacious stuff which came out of the develop- er’s statement about how there was a collusion with corrupt behaviour officials, there is no evidence of that either.”

Mr Izmirlian and CCA have been embroiled in a protracted legal battle over the latter’s commitment to the Baha Mar project, with Mr Izmirlian blaming the Chinese state-owned contractor for the liquidity crisis that led to his ouster as developer after CCA missed the target opening date.

The judge found that Mr Izmirlian’s fraud claim against CCA was “established beyond doubt,” noting that the contractor “knowingly and falsely” promised to meet the revised March 27, 2015, opening date for Baha Mar while concealing the unlikelihood of achieving it.

Judge Borrok ruled that the “evidence establishes” that the $2.3 million paid by CCA to Notarc Management Group, a company run by Sir Baltron’s son, Leslie, was intended to “curry favour” and “gain access” to Mr Christie’s senior policy advisor and the Bahamian government during the peak of the Baha Mar dispute.

The ruling’s findings have renewed concerns about the then-Christie administration’s handling of the Baha Mar dispute and the broader implications for governance in The Bahamas, prompting opposition calls for an independent investigation into the allegations.

Mr Mitchell dismissed the opposition’s concerns and questioned when Michael Pintard, the party’s leader, would support Bahamians and the country.

“He has a pattern of this without checking the facts,” he added.

He noted past court judgments condemning FNM members for interference in Bahamian cases, suggesting a lack of consistency in their support for the justice system.

For his part, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said the ruling will not affect his ministry’s efforts to secure funding from the China Export-Import Bank to build a new hospital.

Dr Darville said the ministry’s funding mechanism is distinct from the private agreement involved in the Baha Mar project.

“This is a country-to-country transaction where this administration is going into a business relationship with the Chinese government, directly by way of concessional loans,” he said. “These concessional loans are loans that are accessible in the Caribbean and other countries to be able to access funding from the EXIM bank at low interest rates. We don’t anticipate a similar situation.”