04052018 business

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business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

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Insolvent bank’s chief accused of ‘sham deal’

EU response ‘undercuts’ FDI allure

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

he principal of a defunct Bahamian bank, who claimed to have financed the PLP’s 2002 election win, has been accused of using a sham mortgage “to defeat legitimate creditors”. Raymond Winder, Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) managing partner, is alleging that Mohammed Harajchi has “contrived a paper transaction” with his wife in a bid to sell his $20 million-plus Paradise Island mansion and exit the country without returning depositors’ funds. Mr Winder, the courtappointed liquidator for

* Harajchi bid to ‘defeat creditors’ on PI home * Suisse Security liquidator seeks Gov’t block * Just 1% of claims by client accepted Mr Harajchi’s Suisse Security Bank & Trust, said he has “made strong and detailed representations” to the Government’s Investment Board in an effort to block the Harajchis’ alleged scheme. However, Tribune Business sources have confirmed that his position has weakened, and that Mr Harajchi’s wife has made progress towards obtaining a Certificate of Validation for two mortgage loans - allegedly made to her husband - which are secured

on the Paradise Island properties. Mr Winder, in his latest report to the Supreme Court, revealed that Sonja Harajchi obtained a Supreme Court Order on July 30, 2012, that gives her permission to foreclose on loans that are allegedly worth a combined $9.5 million. Detailing his suspicions, the Bahamian accountant said the Paradise Island properties were supposedly RAYMOND WINDER

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A former attorney general yesterday warned that the Bahamas’ ‘blacklisting’ response “strikes right at the heart” of its decades-long policy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Alfred Sears QC told Tribune Business that the Multinational Entities Financial Reporting Bill effectively “undercuts” the preferential tax regime used to attract major overseas developers and investors by eliminating ‘ring fencing’. Mr Sears said that while this could lead to the creation of a ‘level playing field’ on tax incentives, something long called

* BILL ‘STRIKES AT HEART’ OF PREFERENTIAL REGIME * EX-AG: BEPS NON-DISCLOSE AN ‘ABSURDITY’ * KEY QUESTION: ‘HOW WE REINVENT OURSELVES’ for by many Bahamians, it would also force a major reevaluation of how this nation lured FDI. And he blasted as “an absurdity” the Government’s failure to-date to

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SHELL, NEW FORTRESS BATTLE FOR BPL DEAL By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TWO liquefied natural gas (LNG) giants were yesterday said to be the front-runners for Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) generation contract, which has become “bogged down” in Cabinet. Multiple Tribune Business sources familiar with developments said Shell Gas North America and New Fortress Energy were the main contenders for the energy supply contract, which will likely involve construction of a new LNG-fuelled power plant at Clifton Pier. This newspaper was told that BPL’s Board and consultants had

* Approval ‘bogged down’ in Cabinet * Observers: ‘Little change from Christie’ * BPL chair: ‘Everything on hold’ till decision recommended Shell as the preferred bidder, but New Fortress’s offer had several qualities that were gaining traction among some ministers - hence the delayed Cabinet decision in awarding the contract. The drawn-out wait yesterday prompted one source to suggest that the Minnis administration was little different from its PLP predecessor when it came to moving swiftly, and decisively, addressing the Bahamas’ longstanding energy woe - and its need for cheaper, more reliant power.

Minister’s $90m fish exports double ‘goal’ By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday said he had set himself the “goal” of doubling the Bahamas’ annual $90 million fisheries exports. Renward Wells, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said fisheries exports - $70 million of which are spiny lobster and crawfish, and the remaining $20 million conch, stone crab and snappers - represented an important avenue to

increase the Bahamas’ foreign currency earnings. “I’m looking as a minister to see how we dramatically increase our foreign exports to get that foreign exchange into the country,” he said. “I believe the Bahamian fishing sector, probably over the next year to two, can double the $90 million. We can look at $180-$200 million. That’s my goal and we will see how close we can get to that.” While promoting the 2018 Agriculture Expo that will be held at the Gladstone Road Agricultural

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Conch-rete not what it’s cracked up to be By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net USING conch shells in concrete mixes and slabs was exposed as especially “ill-advised” when Hurricane Matthew smashed into North Andros, a storm impact report has revealed. An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report on the damages and economic losses stemming from the October 2016 storm revealed that weak Code enforcement, and construction costs that were 30 per cent higher than New Providence, rendered

* MATTHEW EXPOSES ‘ILL-ADVISED’ CONSTRUCTION * 30% HIGHER OUT ISLAND COSTS ADD TO WOE * FUND DELAYS HIT ANDROS CORPSE RETRIEVAL Family Island structures especially vulnerable to hurricanes. Pegging damage to the Bahamian housing sector at

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“They’ve been in office 11 months now, and this should have been dealt with in six,” one observer, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s bogged down. Nothing is fundamentally improved. We are still living off rental generation, and in a short while oil prices will go up and we will not have done anything to create any energy security in the country. It’s just more of the same.” Another added: “The process has been derailed. Whatever comes out now is the same old, same old.”

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, and Darnell Osborne, BPL’s chairman, both declined to confirm Shell’s selection as the preferred bidder when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday. Mr Bannister, who has ministerial responsibility for BPL and was in the process of returning to the Bahamas from a holiday, pledged that approval of the winning bids would not take much longer. “I suspect we’ll have that dealt with very shortly. That won’t be out there much longer,” he told Tribune Business. As for the Shell recommendation, he added: “I can’t confirm or deny that. It would be wrong for me to do that.... I’m sure you have very good sources.”

Mrs Osborne, meanwhile, suggested that BPL’s long-term refinancing via the proposed Rate Reduction Bond (RRB) offering was effectively “on hold” until the Government made a decision on the long-term generation contract. “We made our recommendation to the Government, to the Cabinet and we’re waiting for the Prime Minister to make the announcement,” she said, indicating that the generation deal could determine how much funding is required through the RRB. “Let’s just hope the Government can make the announcement soon, and once that’s made we can move forward,” Mrs Osborne

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