Monday, August 29, 2016
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune News Editor
tmthompson@tribunemedia.net
SARKIS Izmirlian’s company BMD Holdings has criticised the appointment of China Construction America (CCA) executive Tiger Wu to a committee that will oversee payments to Baha Mar creditors.
In a statement released hours after the government announced the formation of the committee, BMD Holdings alleged that Mr Wu has “engaged in documented questionable behaviour,” adding that it was CCA that created the situation that led to Baha Mar’s troubles. CCA is Baha Mar’s general contractor.
“It is hard to understand how the best interests of unsecured creditors can be served by a committee that specifically includes the Chinese construction company CCA and its executive Tiger Wu,” the statement said.
“This is the same CCA and Tiger Wu who failed to meet construction deadlines causing Baha Mar to not be completed and to not open. It is the same Tiger Wu who has engaged in documented questionable behaviour in the Bahamas. It is the same CCA that created a Baha Mar creditor situation in the first place. It is the same CCA that opposed the Chapter 11 filing and helped to stop the developer’s reorganisation plan to pay Bahamians in full and complete Baha Mar with Bahamian contractors.
“And this is the same CCA and leadership which have been sued in various legal proceedings for failing to pay parties to whom CCA owes monies for its non-performance.
“CCA has proven itself to be a serial deceiver of the prime minister of the Bahamas and the Bahamian people. The unsecured creditors of Baha Mar have every reason to be wary and concerned about the credibility of this committee and its agenda.”
Earlier on Sunday, the government announced that former Central Bank Governor James Smith; Grant Lyon, liquidation claims advisor to the government; Yanping Mo, representative of the Export-Import Bank of China; Norbert Chan, representative of court appointed receiver Deloitte & Touche and Mr Wu had been appointed to a committee to administer the claims of Bahamian and other creditors of the Baha Mar group of companies.
The government said it hoped that Bahamian employee claims would be settled no later than September 30 and that all other claims will be dealt with on or before December 31.
One day after the resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US court last year, Baha Mar Limited sued China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd - CCA’s parent company - in the English High Court. The claim stemmed from what Baha Mar Ltd said were repeated delays that have caused the resort to miss its opening deadlines.
Mr Izmirlian, the resort’s developer, has frequently blamed CCA for the repeated delays in the resort’s opening. Baha Mar is currently in receivership.
Comments
sealice says...
gotta agree that committee stinks worst then the dump and he's right about conflict of interest 100% but that is one thing that the PLP doesn't care about ALA our judiciary constantly being harassed by the politicos....
Posted 29 August 2016, 2:24 p.m. Suggest removal
TalRussell says...
Comrade Izmirlian takes a strange observation over who got appointed cause wasn't it his wanting to avoid the local courts to be running off to file for Creditor Protection in America's Delaware that created the situation that was to contribute to Baha Mar’s done looming by that time financial troubles? If you didn't knows better, you'd have believe everything was on completion and grand opening schedule over at Izmirlin's then managed Cable Beach resort project and fancy dock?
Posted 29 August 2016, 2:46 p.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
And most Bahamians are angered that "the old tired hack" James Smith remains an incompetent crony that Christie resorts to whenever he needs a puppet finance person who's only too willing to keep things shrouded in great secrecy; things that should receive plenty of sunshine.
Posted 29 August 2016, 3:22 p.m. Suggest removal
jusscool says...
If you all think that dealing with the Chinese is gonna be happy go lucky ,u are mistaken. We in the Bahamas are in for some long dark days . Our children and grand children will be affected !
Posted 29 August 2016, 4:43 p.m. Suggest removal
banker says...
Hope that the Chinese bring in the one child rule.
Posted 29 August 2016, 5:25 p.m. Suggest removal
birdiestrachan says...
Mr: James Smith is a good man a brilliant son of the Bahamas. the "Sic" one sees
him as less. But Mr:Sarkis is the great white knight cumming to save him. Mr: Smith would not Be in this at all if Mr: Sarkis had done the right things. he should have asked Mr: Smith for advise . instead of the one from the wash house.
Posted 29 August 2016, 5:31 p.m. Suggest removal
asiseeit says...
Sorry Birdie, this is an adult conversation for people who can look at a situation and come to their OWN conclusions without bringing petty party politics into the fray. You are a child of the PLP and therefore we will treat you just so, as a child.
Posted 29 August 2016, 5:41 p.m. Suggest removal
Baha10 says...
Whatever one's views on politics or personalities, it is safe to say that the much opinionated Laundry Man was, however entertaining, a poor choice of local spokesperson on financial matters of this magnitude, as even the most basic due diligence would have revealed a squandering of inheritance through a series of failed personal business ventures, albeit one could conclude perhaps that herein lies what the Laundry Man and Izfailian actually have in common, hence the connection, however disastrous.
Posted 29 August 2016, 6:18 p.m. Suggest removal
BMW says...
Bahamian employees will be paid by Sept. 30 and all others by December, does all others include the contractors they want to rehire to start work in Sept.
Posted 30 August 2016, 5:51 a.m. Suggest removal
C2B says...
You get to choose your own english name and you go with......Tiger. Any psychologists want to opine on this one?
Posted 30 August 2016, 9:59 a.m. Suggest removal
banker says...
In China, the tiger is considered the king of all beasts (not the lion) and represents powerful energy. Further, the tiger is associated with Tsai Shen Yeh, the Chinese God of Wealth, and this god is usually seen sitting on a tiger in Asian art.
Posted 30 August 2016, 2:08 p.m. Suggest removal
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