By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Supreme Court judge has issued a ruling over the ownership of diamonds in a multi-million luxury goods battle featuring two murders - including that of an ex-Cabinet minister’s husband - and likely Customs fraud.

Justice Loren Klein said he had “great difficulty in accepting at face value anything said” by the parties fighting over millions of dollars worth of stock left behind by Treasures Bahamas, the jewellery and luxury goods retail chain that was headed by the late Leon Griffin.

Both Mr Griffin, former Bahamas Taxi Cab Union president and husband of ex-Cabinet minister, Melanie Griffin, and his business partner, accountant Biswajit Pati, were slain within months of each other in 2021.

Justice Klein ruled on the ownership of four loose diamonds that were “caught up in a seize and search” order granted by the Supreme Court in July 2023 - saying they should be handed to the agent of Satish Daryanani, principal of Miami-based Sovereign Jewelry.