Senator Fred Mitchell fired back at the original Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian for his comments regarding the previous administration’s handling of the stalled multibillion dollar resort.
In a scathing verbal assault during his contribution to the 2017-2018 Budget Communication debate in the Senate yesterday, Mr. Mitchell called the statement offensive.
“The press statement which appears to be operating on behalf of Baha Mar is offensive and I remind him if he does not want to be in The Bahamas he can leave,” Mr. Mitchell said.
“I’ve explained time again. He is a failed developer.
“He defaulted on his loan to the bank not once but twice. The Bahamas government tried to help him on two occasions. Scotiabank had to take a cut at the intervention of the government. On the last occasion, the developer filed for bankruptcy while negotiating with the prime minister of the country. His board put the country in bankruptcy.”
The statement from Mr. Izmirlian’s BMD Holdings on Sunday called for the investigation undertaken by the Gaming Board to grant CTFE’s casino license to be reopened, and its findings made public and further stated that BMD is now considering legal options against the parties involved in the heads of terms between the Export Import Bank of China (CEXIM), China State Construction and the government.
It also refers to the alleged “extensive, disturbing public record of potentially extensive criminal associations of Chow Tai Fook’s owners,” and suggested it was a factor that the previous administration “appears to have been intentionally and conveniently ignored.”
CTFE has repeatedly denied claims that its operations were linked to organized crime in Asia.
CHOW Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) received the full support of the government to complete and operate Baha Mar, according to resort President Graeme Davis, who on Monday flagged the parent company’s international status as “visionary business leaders.”
Mr. Davis said the resort was on track to meet its goal of employing more than 5,000 Bahamians at the completion of its phased opening in 2018.
The resort’s president did not acknowledge the calls for a moratorium on the resort’s sale by Izmirlian’s BMD Holdings Ltd.
