By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A former FNM chairman and senator is the Supreme Court-appointed receiver charged with selling-off assets owned by an ex-MP and Supreme Court judge in a bid to recover millions of dollars for his alleged victims.

Darron Cash yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business “that is correct” when contacted by this newspaper over advertisements identifying him as the receiver seeking bids on the former law offices of Elliott Lockhart KC and his Lockhart & Co law firm by 1pm this Friday, May 25.

He declined to comment further, but this newspaper understands he has been charged with taking possession of, securing and selling real estate and other assets owned by Mr Lockhart in a bid to recover funds the latter purportedly took from several foreign investors for Bahamian real estate transactions that he never completed. And, despite failing to deliver what was promised, the ex-MP and judge never returned the monies.

Tribune Business contacts, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk publicly, confirmed that Mr Cash’s remit is to maximise the purchase price received for all real estate and other assets identified as being owned by Mr Lockhart with the sales proceeds used to compensate the latter’s creditors.

“The court was provided with a specific set of properties, and those are the properties that come within the ambit of the work of the receiver,” one source explained. Besides Mr Lockhart’s former law offices at 35 Buen Retiro Road off Shirley Street, which are now being advertised for sale, other assets that could be targeted include his personal residence, with a last known address listed as 67 Ocean Drive, Adelaide Village.

Among the assets that could be targeted are Mr Lockhart’s personal residence, with his last known address listed as 67 Ocean Drive, Adelaide Village; his former law firm’s offices at Buen Retiro Road; and other real estate and chattels of value in both New Providence and Exuma, the latter being the constituency he represented in Parliament between 1997 and 2002.

Other real estate and chattels of value in both New Providence and Exuma, the latter being the constituency Mr Lockhart represented in Parliament between 1997 and 2002, will also likely be of interest to Mr Cash. The Supreme Court previously approved a ‘fieri facias’ application brought on behalf of US investor, Dr Paul Fuchs, which authorises officials to seize assets owned by persons who fail to pay court judgments.

Dr Fuchs, who is asserting that Mr Lockhart owes him $3.033m over a real estate deal that fell through, but for which the latter never returned his money, yesterday told Tribune Business he still hopes “justice is done” and that “all the parties” involved in the disappearance of his funds are held accountable.

Voicing disquiet that the Bahamas Bar Association and no members of the legal profession have spoken out to condemn Mr Lockhart’s alleged conduct, he added that the affair will “undoubtedly negatively impact” this nation’s reputation and attraction as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). 

This, Dr Fuchs warned, could hit both the economy and hard-working Bahamians as he warned that “there’s definitely a dark side” to investing in this nation. He added that Mr Cash and the courts now have an opportunity to “regain investor confidence” through successfully recovering assets belonging to himself and others and encourage persons to “aggressively invest” in The Bahamas again.

“I’m hoping to get the money back, and I’m hoping for justice for all the parties that are involved,” Dr Fuchs told this newspaper. “There’s several people who were involved; it takes more than one person. We’re hoping everyone is held accountable and justice is done.”

Asked how the loss of the funds has impacted himself and his family, he added: “Just a lot of time and energy that should not have had to be spent trying to recover the money and a lot of undue stress on me and my family. Unnecessary stress for me, and a lot of stress in trying to deal with recovering the money, and shock more than anything.”

Dr Fuchs also voiced surprise that no one had spoken out over Mr Lockhart’s alleged actions given the potential damage they threaten to cause to The Bahamas’ investment reputation. “It’s surprising that his peers wouldn’t have done more and said more,” he said. “His peers in the law field should strongly oppose his actions and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say a word about it.

“It’s definitely going to negatively impact investment in The Bahamas. This is something that is going to be on a worldwide stage, and brought to people’s attention and brought to investors’ attention. It’s undoubtedly going to negatively impact The Bahamas, and it’s a real shame for people in The Bahamas who are reasonable and do a good job.

“There’s definitely a dark side and it’s bad because it makes investors do a double take and have second thoughts as to where to invest their money. I do think, in the big picture, that the courts and the receiver and the country have an opportunity to make it right, and they have an opportunity to demonstrate they are going to uphold the law and that The Bahamas can be a good place for investment,” Dr Fuchs added.

“In order to claim that they have to do the right thing and, if they do the right thing, they can regain people’s and investor confidence. What is right is right, and what happened is a travesty. I know that if they make it right people will have an opportunity to happily and aggressively invest.”

Mr Cash is advertising Mr Lockhart’s former law offices for sale “by order of the court” as “hidden commercial gems with prospects for multiple income streams”. The 35 Buen Retiro Road property is said to cover “three expansive lots”, be three storeys high and include rental units, while also featuring “a large parking lot”.

Clearly hoping to spark a bidding war, and thus maximise the sales price, Mr Cash said all offers must be presented in a sealed envelope to him by this Friday, May 2, at 1pm. A timetable setting out when interested buyers can inspect the property is also detailed.

Mr Lockhart’s whereabouts are currently unknown, with some sources saying he is still in The Bahamas and others suggesting he may have fled abroad. Following an October 11, 2023, hearing, the Supreme Court ordered that Mr Lockhart and Lockhart & Co were “jointly and severally liable” to return the $3.033m to Dr Fuchs.

Interest was to be added at an annual rate of three percent from September 8, 2023, and this subsequently rose to 6.25 percent per annum until full payment. 

Back in June 2024, Mr Lockhart was the subject of an Interpol ‘red notice’, which is a worldwide alert issued to all law enforcement authorities, asking them to help locate, and provisionally arrest, the former MP and ex-Supreme Court judge who was once chairman of Nassau Flight Services, the Gaming Board and the Police Inspectorate.

Prior to the Interpol action, the Royal Bahamas Police Force in early 2024 had issued a ‘wanted poster’ for Mr Lockhart after Dr Fuchs lodged a criminal complaint against him. The Interpol action also revealed that other aggrieved investors were making similar allegations to those asserted by Dr Fuchs.

Daniel Clay Smith Jnr was revealed to have made a separate but similar complaint to the police force’s Financial Crimes Investigation Branch on August 18, 2023. He alleged that, between May 2022 and November 2022, he paid some $3.205m to Mr Lockhart and his law firm to assist with Crown Land on Staniel Cay, Exuma, that he wanted to convert to commercial use.

“In addition, some of the funds were to assist in applying to The Bahamas’ Immigration Department for citizenship (likely permanent residency) for Mr Smith and his family,” the Interpol alert alleged. “By November 2022, nothing had materialised and Mr Smith requested his monies to be returned...The funds have not been received to date.”