business@tribunemedia.net
FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025
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Sarkis loses bid to block CCA’s latest $1.7bn challenge t /FX +FSTFZ DPVSU BMMPXT DPOUSBDUPS UP BQQFBM t #BIB .BS EFWFMPQFS DMBJNT MFBWF DIBODF t A$$" TIPVME OPU CF BMMPXFE UP TUBMM BOZ MPOHFS By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SARKIS Izmirlian’s bid to block a fresh appeal of his $1.7bn damages award by China Construction America (CCA) has been rejected by a US court despite assertions it has just a 4 percent chance of SARKIS IZMIRLIAN proceeding. Baha Mar’s original developer, in a May 2, 2025, legal filing argued that the Chinese stateowned contractor’s prospects of being granted permission to appeal by the New York Court of Appeal were “even lower” than the typical 4 percent ratio because the case raises no legal issues of “novel” or public importance. However, Christine Gravelle, the New Jersey bankruptcy court judge, disagreed and, on Monday, May 5, gave CCA Construction, the contractor’s US unit, the go-ahead to join its Bahamian affiliates, CCA (Bahamas) and CSCEC (Bahamas), to pursue their second bid to overturn Mr Izmirlian’s $1.7bn fraud and breach of contract damages award made against the three of them jointly. Mr Izmirlian, in a move that would have blocked one of the three CCA entities from pursuing the appeal had it succeeded, argued against lifting the “automatic stay” imposed by CCA Construction’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings to allow it to participate. He accused the contractor of “abusing the bankruptcy process” and using it as a “litigation tactic to stall” efforts to collect his $1.7bn damages award.
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Land reforms to ‘wash out’ bogus title claims t -BOE SFHJTUSZ NPWF IBJMFE BT ANBTTJWF USBOTGPSNBUJPO THE Government’s land t -JLF AHPJOH GSPN 'PSE reforms promise “a massive transformation” that QJDL VQ UP OFX NPEFM will ultimately “clean out the system” and better secure t #VU ADMFBOJOH PVU TZTUFN OPU property ownership rights for all Bahamians, it was asserted HPJOH UP IBQQFO PWFSOJHIU By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
yesterday. Andrew O’Brien, the Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien attorney and partner, who specialises in conveyancing, told Tribune Business that the planned switch to a system of registered land “is an opportunity to go from a 1985 Ford pick-up truck to a 2025 model” and adopt more efficient practices that will speed-up real estate transactions and create greater certainty for all parties involved. And David Morley, broker/ owner of Morley Realty, said
the land adjudication process and creation of a Bahamian land registry - the key changes that will be introduced by the reforms - will help “wash out” problems with the existing system for securing title such as the growing number of “bogus conveyances” and those failing to pay either their VAT transaction tax or real property taxes. Both men, speaking after the Government tabled the Land Adjudication Bill and Registered Land Bill in
the House of Assembly on Wednesday, warned that the changes “will not take place overnight” as it will take years - even decades - before all land parcels and properties can be adjudicated and accepted on to the registry. However, once “in full swing”, Mr Morley said the land registry promises to be of “tremendous benefit” given that real estate-related issues touch all Bahamians at some point in their lives. And Mr O’Brien said The
Bahamas would now be following many of its Caribbean neighbours who have already transitioned to a registered land system and away from attorneys having to conduct title searches going back 30 years. The Land Adjudication Bill, if passed into law by Parliament in its current form, provides an adjudicator - who must be an attorney with at least seven years’ conveyancing experience - and two other persons with the authority to form an adjudication tribunal. This tribunal will then assess and determine claims to land ownership in a particular area designated by the responsible minister. Once these claims are adjudicated, they will be entered into a Land Registry whose creation is backed by statute law as opposed to the present
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AG: Bahamas ‘must preserve’ anti-financial crime ‘40 of 40’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General yesterday said it is “vital” The Bahamas maintain its perfect ‘40 out of 40’ compliance on global anti-financial crime standards with just-unveiled legislative reforms dedicated to that goal. Ryan Pinder KC, responding to Tribune Business questions, asserted that this nation’s reputation as “a stable, well-regulated and compliant financial centre must be preserved” especially given that The Bahamas will next year undergo its next
RYAN PINDER KC evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering and anti-financial crime standard.
He spoke out after the Government unveiled a series of reforms to multiple key corporate and financial services laws, including the Companies Act, the International Business Companies (IBCs) Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Register of Beneficial Ownership Act. The changes, which have yet to be debated and passed by Parliament, are designed to ensure The Bahamas complies with revised FATF recommendations. Mr Pinder, emphasising to this newspaper that The Bahamas has no plans or intent to create a register of trusts domiciled in this
nation, said the reforms are designed to meet the new threshold imposed by the global standard-setter’s recommendations 24 and 25. His comments came as its was confirmed yesterday that The Bahamas has been removed from France’s national tax blacklist. In particular, the Companies Act and IBC Act reforms will ban nominee directors sitting on the Boards of Bahamian corporate entities. These are directors who are acting for, and being instructed, by someone else such as one of a company’s
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Doctors Hospital profit down 60% on cost hike By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net DOCTORS Hospital suffered a near 60 percent year-over-year net income decline over the nine months to end-October 2024 as expenses growth outstripped revenue rises amid its ongoing expansion. Felix Stubbs, the BISXlisted healthcare provider’s chairman, in his report to shareholders said a variety of factors drove the cost surge with net income declining by more than $4.36m year-over-year to $2.941m compared to $7.302m the year before.
While total revenues for the period rose slightly, growing by 1.9 percent or just over $1.6m to $90.477m, compared to $88.821m the year before, this was outpaced by the 7.4 percent or more than $6m jump in expenses to $87.536m. Doctors Hospital is understood to view the drop in net income drop for the period as not unexpected, given that it is still firmly in growth and expansion mode, and incurring investment-related costs ahead of anticipated revenue increases and future
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Berry Islands ‘frustrated’ over road and communication woe By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net BERRY Island residents yesterday voiced concerns about road paving delays, a lack of infrastructure and unreliable telecommunications services. Lawrence Rolle, owner of White Water Bar and Restaurant, said residents have grown frustrated over delays with a road paving project that has been ongoing for two years coupled with communications issues.
Mr Rolle, who owns a number of companies and commercial real estate properties, said he has had issues with the service provided by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) for years with customers often unable to reach his operations via telephone. He said he disconnected the service as it took three years for a technician to come and fix the issue, and he received a bill for the period when services were down.
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