business@tribunemedia.net
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
$5.05 $4.90
$5.10
$5.11
$5.12
Marina chief slams ‘absurd’ claim ‘we’re part of problem’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday slammed as “absurd” accusations that the industry is not doing enough to aid the crackdown on illegal fisheries practices by failing to alert the authorities to suspect vessels. Peter Maury told Tribune Business it was “stupid” and “dumb” to suggest that legitimate Bahamian marinas are “part of the problem” as he asserted that previous tip-offs the sector has provided about out-of-season crawfish catches and unlicensed charter operators generated no response from the relevant law enforcement agencies. Emphasising that Bahamian marina operators would “never knowingly let anyone mess up our marine resources”, he added that the authorities’ failure to act on their previous calls had caused such a loss of trust and confidence that few bothered to submit
• ‘Stupid’ to accuse industry of turning blind eye to illegal activity • ABM president: ‘We’ve alerted authorities, but nobody acting’ • ‘Nothing but bad reviews’ for Bahamas at latest Boat Show reports on suspected illegal activities because “nobody comes and does anything about it”. Mr Maury hit back after both Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s (NFA) secretary, and Mike Cenci, the WildAid senior law enforcement adviser who played a key role in last week’s apprehension of an alleged illegal sports fishing charter, suggested to this newspaper that Bahamian marinas could do more to aid the fight against such operators who abuse this nation’s laws and maritime resources. Mr Cenci, in particular, called for marinas to provide more support for law
Tax reporting blunder stuck $2.5m fine on trustee’s client BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN trust company caused a client to incur a $2.5m penalty after it mistakenly provided information not required by law to the Colombian tax authorities while valuing his investments at three times’ their previously-disclosed worth. Justice Camille Darville-Gomez, in December 18, 2025, verdict revealed that Isaac Daniel Picciotto Kassin, a wealthy businessman, had declared the assets held by his
• JP Morgan (Bahamas) valued assets at three times’ earlier disclosure Bahamas-domiciled trust as being worth $6.183m in both the 2016 and 2017 tax returns he submitted to his home country tax authorities. The valuation was based on the “historical cost” of acquiring the underlying operating companies held by the trust.
VERDICT - See Page B4
enforcement agencies by tipping them off to the presence of suspected illegal fishing charters. He argued: “The revenue that marinas get does not compensate for the value of fisheries they are ripping off.” And Mr Maillis disclosed that the activities of unlicensed foreign fishing charter operators was one reason why Bahamian fishermen were ambivalent over the new and increased boating fees imposed from July 1 last year. He acknowledged there was a “split” in the fishing community over the issue, with many believing they were justified due to the economic loss and damage
PETER MAURY being caused by such illegal practices. Mr Maury, though, asserted that it was “hysteria” and “insanity” to suggest that marinas are turning a blind eye to suspected law-breakers just to earn extra revenue. He called on law enforcement and the fishermen to meet with the ABM and its members to address any issues and “come up with a solution”. Amid escalating “rumours” that the Government may revise the new and increased boating fees that were
SAILING - See Page B4
Gov’ts tax compliance reforms halted accounts ‘running amok’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s tax reforms over the past decade have prevented Bahamian businesses from “running amok” with their financial reporting and enabled small enterprises to expand to medium-sized ones, a corporate consultant argued yesterday. Mark A Turnquest, founder of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, and a well-known advisor to
the sector, told Tribune Business he backed assertions by Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, that the enhanced financial reporting demanded by VAT and recent Business Licence reforms has forced many in the private sector to become “more accountable and disciplined” with their record-keeping. He added that this began with VAT’s implementation on New Year’s Day 2015, which demanded that all businesses with an annual
VERIFY - See Page B5
ROSEWOOD EXUMA SITE PLAN
‘Significant concerns’ over $200m Rosewood Exuma’s dock location BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN planning authorities are still voicing “significant concerns” about the location of the $200m Rosewood Exuma project’s service dock despite giving the “overall concept for the resort” support in principle. Jehan Wallace, assistant director at the Department of Physical Planning, in a January 13, 2026, paper prepared for the Town Planning Committee asserted that relocation of the service dock “is considered essential to ensure environmentally responsible, resilient and sustainable development”. Complaints about the service dock’s location, which sparked complaints and legal challenges from neighbouring developers of the Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club and Over Yonder Cay, was what led the Rosewood Exuma developer to withdraw the project’s first site plan application prior to the
• Top Planning official says relocation ‘essential’ • Concerns persist despite promise it be moved • Resort ‘concept’ gets Planning nod ‘in principle’ Subdivision and Development Appeal Board’s site visit and subsequent hearing. That first site plan had already been approved by the Town Planning Committee but, based on Ms Wallace’s paper, it appears the same service dock-related concerns still exist despite the facility’s purported relocation by the developer, Miami-based APPLICATION - See Page B2