Friday, May 16, 2025
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie is standing by his administration’s handling of the Baha Mar crisis, despite a US court finding that China Construction America (CCA) deliberately sabotaged the project and secretly paid the son of his senior adviser in a bid to gain influence with his government.
Mr Christie, who led the government through the major crisis, addressed the matter publicly for the first time yesterday when questioned by The Tribune.
In an October ruling, New York Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok found that Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian had proven fraud claims against CCA “beyond doubt.” The ruling described how CCA made $2.3m in payments to Notarc Management Group, an entity managed by Leslie Bethel, to gain access to Sir Baltron Bethel, Christie’s senior policy adviser during the Baha Mar dispute.
Mr Christie said he had no knowledge of these payments and defended his personal integrity.
“The point is this,” he said. “I have been in public life for, as you know, almost a generation, over 40 years, okay? I pride myself in the integrity I brought to my office and I brought to my administration.”
He emphasised that the court’s findings did not implicate him and that his focus was always on the national interest.
He said Baha Mar’s completion and operation were a success, citing thousands of Bahamians employed and contractors paid.
He maintained that his administration’s goal was to prevent the $3.5 billion resort from collapsing and to ensure that Bahamians benefited from the development, regardless of who controlled it.
His position has been echoed by members of the current administration. Attorney General Ryan Pinder previously said that talks about new ownership began only after Mr Izmirlian defaulted on obligations, the project became unviable, and it entered receivership. He argued that the government acted in the public’s best interest.
Mr Christie also insisted there was no political favouritism in the handling of the matter and said his government fought to have the issue resolved in Bahamian courts. He credited the China Export-Import Bank, the project’s financier, with stepping in to ensure the resort’s completion despite its financial troubles.
“I have no regrets about that,” he said, “and it was not a question of siding with anybody. It was a question of ensuring that justice was done and that in the best interest of everybody and you know, there are always losers in this matter, all right, and one can sympathise with that.”
He also recalled his early meetings with Mr Izmirlian and the vision presented to him during the resort’s conceptual phase.
“I will never forget that Sarkis Izmarilian was the one who took me where in the back of where the old Prime Minister’s Office was at the time, in the weeds by the pond there, the little lake there, and gave me the vision, his vision for Baha Mar that exists today,” he said.
Mr Izmirlian has previously accused the Christie administration of conspiring to oust him from the project.
Comments
whatsup says...
We sure have some dumb politicians....they never have knowledge of anything.
Posted 16 May 2025, 1:07 p.m. Suggest removal
birdiestrachan says...
Mr Christie you did a great job .you wanted the hotel opened to benefit Bahamians. Doc who run his mouth was very happy happy to benefit from the hotel opening .
Posted 16 May 2025, 1:16 p.m. Suggest removal
jamesg30 says...
Did you miss the headlines over the past year? Izz was robbed by the Chinese. Plain and simple. It could not happen on their own. You connect the dots. Happy happy happy you are happy for this injustice, and fortunately it was corrected by an outside jurisdiction. Left to our own court system? Take a guess?
Posted 16 May 2025, 3:06 p.m. Suggest removal
screwedbahamian says...
wonder if that was before he disobeyed the Bahamian Citizens referendum that said "NO" to the
" Web Shops Boys" beings granted legal status to Sucker the poorest destitute citizens of their hard earned (not enough monies to put food on the table for their families) wages. Since that Bahamian Benefit, how many of those free Hams and Turkeys have been given out, and " due they pay V.A.T.?? or consultancy fees??
Good to hear he think that he did something good for the Bahamians people. Do the people in the constituency that he represented for 40 years, have running water and toilets in their homes yet??
Posted 16 May 2025, 3:12 p.m. Suggest removal
birdiestrachan says...
Are people not responsible for putting in their own bath rooms many of those homes are generation property persons who gamble gambled when it was illegal God did not make us robots, hence the garden of Eden, , all the trees only one not to eat from, , free will Eve had free will ,
Posted 16 May 2025, 4:44 p.m. Suggest removal
LastManStanding says...
The morality discussion surrounding gambling is ultimately irrelevant, the fact is the Bahamian electorate voted against it and the PLP should have never bothered to waste a bunch of money and everyone's time if they were just going to ignore the result anyways. It was a giant middle finger in the electorate's face and basically told everyone voting is a waste of time TPTB will do whatever they want anyways. Very functional democratic system.
Posted 16 May 2025, 6:35 p.m. Suggest removal
rosiepi says...
This is old news, so why is ole Perry the Player inserting himself here defending and confessing..or did this media outlet just happen to be in his neighborhood??
One can only hope an old penny has dropped in or better yet he’s been served to account for he and his cronies’ deceitful corrupting of Sarkis Izmirlian’s vision for a $3.5B revitalized Cable Beach into the Bahamas’ worst pay to play scandal, a cautionary tale that still stymies would be investors today!
Posted 16 May 2025, 5:18 p.m. Suggest removal
rosiepi says...
Right.
He held back the employment of how many thousands of Bahamians poised to work starting 2014 to 2017 in order to enrich himself and his corrupt cronies!
Posted 16 May 2025, 5:23 p.m. Suggest removal
bogart says...
One (1) investor and one (1) Bahamas Government in contract.
Three (3) countries involved The Bahamas, China and the US involved.
Two (2) Law Courts involved The Bahamas and the US
The Bahamian peoples land, the peoples birthright involved MUST involve a full independent investigation of this matter ----- instead of discussions and the opinioned views back and forth between the former Prime Minister Mr. Christie, the former Opposition leader and later Mr. Minnis and Mr. Sarkis and the Chinese officials.
Full independent investigation is needed as sweeping the matter under the carpet leaves a ridiculous large $3 + Billion dollar bump under the carpet that will be forever raising negative views that the population will not be prepared to keep bucking their toes on the bump in the carpet.
Posted 16 May 2025, 6:55 p.m. Suggest removal
ExposedU2C says...
This despicable yellow pervert, who is always decked out in his ChiCom uniform, long ago lined his pockets by selling out the Bahamian people to the sinister and evil ChiComs.
And let's not forget for one moment how Perry "Vomit" Christie gave the people his middle finger when asked to address the blatant corruption of himself, Baltron "Bag Man" Bethel, Allyson Maynard Gibson a/k/a Wicked Witch of The West, and the government's favourite go-to judge, namely Injustice Winder.
Try as hard as he may, the yellowed Vomit Christie will never be able to re-write his disgraceful and disgusting legacy of massive corruption that has severely tarnished our nation and its people for generations to come.
Posted 17 May 2025, 12:56 p.m. Suggest removal
CaptainCoon says...
Typical DEI Woke negro leadership!
Posted 17 May 2025, 8:18 p.m. Suggest removal
concernedcitizen says...
You watch too much fox news
Posted 18 May 2025, 10:54 a.m. Suggest removal
birdiestrachan says...
I love you Mr Christie ♥️
Posted 18 May 2025, 5:34 p.m. Suggest removal
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