THE latest in the courtroom battles over Baha Mar has proven to be a resounding legal victory for Sarkis Izmirlian.
Mr Izmirlian had been fighting it out in court with China Construction America (CCA) – and the latter had sought to have Mr Izmirlian’s $2.25bn fraud claim dismissed. They failed. Spectacularly.
Instead, the latest court rulings, from Judge Andrew Borrok in New York, saw CCA ruled against across the board.
Court matters are still proceeding – with a two-week trial of Mr Izmirlian’s fraud claim against CCA still to come next year, but the latest rulings clear the way for that to take place.
The findings included that 700 Chinese construction workers were sent home with the approval of the CCA executive vice-president “despite knowing that those workers may have helped the project reach the substantial completion date on time”. That led to then Prime Minister Perry Christie being “disingenuously” informed that the resort would meet its completion date.
Worse, that vice-president, Tiger Wu, apparently allowed the workers to leave “with the express purpose of causing CCA to stop work” so the contractor could have leverage to demand more money. Resources were instead diverted to the British Colonial resort in downtown Nassau.
There is much more to the rulings, including seeking to remove Mr Izmirlian from the project.
The rulings give a glimpse inside the process by which the Baha Mar development ran into problems, in contrast with the stories being told of completion dates being on target.
It is worth reading every word in today’s Tribune Business – even as the legal process now continues to the next stage.
This is the kind of transparency and clarity we should strive for in our nation – even if it has all emerged in a courtroom far away, and with another year to go before the final outcome.
Gas impasse
When it comes to the debate between the gas retailers and the government, we seem to have reached an impasse.
The gas retailers say they will not sell diesel until matters are resolved – and they want an adjustment in price margins.
Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis says the government is not considering adjusting price margins in their favour.
Are we seeing an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object? If so, prepare for a crunch.
Whatever the outcome, the rest of us do not want to get caught in the middle.