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FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023
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‘Impossible situation’ fear on FTX Bahamas wind-up By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Liquidators’ operating cash dwindles under $1m FTX Bahamas’ liquidators yesterday warned they will be placed in “an impossible situ- • FTX US chief trying to ation” if they are forced into a “never-ending” legal battle ‘starve’ and ‘strangle’ them with their US counterparts as operating cash has dwindled • Delaware judge to rule on to less than $1m. Peter Greaves, the Hong Chapter 11 stay today Kong-based accountant who is one of the three joint provisional liquidators for the failed crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, told the Delaware Bankruptcy Court the trio have “already committed expenditure beyond the funds we have” due to an inability to access assets amid the ongoing courtroom battle with John Ray, head of the 134 FTX entities under US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Christopher Shore, an attorney with White & Case, the US attorney for Mr Greaves and his fellow
provisional liquidators, accused Mr Ray and his team of using the worldwide automatic freeze imposed by the Chapter 11 proceedings to “starve” FTX Digital Markets into submission through lack of funds and “strangle” its winding-up before the Supreme Court. Mr Greaves and his fellow PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) partner, Kevin Cambridge, together with Brian Simms KC, the senior Lennox Paton partner, have
BRIAN SIMMS KC
previously alleged that interference by Mr Ray and his team dissuaded Tether from releasing $45m worth of stablecoins - digital assets backed one:one by fiat currency - to the FTX Digital Markets liquidation despite the two sides agreeing earlier this year that these assets belonged to the Bahamian proceedings. The joint provisional liquidators have also been
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THE UK wants to build on last year’s 295.1 percent increase in Bahamian exports and thus cure its “historical commercial underrepresentation” in this nation, its trade chief for Latin America and the Caribbean has revealed. Jonathan Knott, the UK’s trade commissioner for the
region, in responses to Tribune Business questions during this week’s four-day visit to The Bahamas said he wants to further expand the £324m worth of goods and services that this country exported to his during 2022. Speaking as the UK seeks to reset its trade and business relationships post-Brexit, and its departure from the now-27 state European Union (EU), M Knott said: “The UK has
KEVIN CAMBRIDGE
been historically underrepresented commercially in The Bahamas. As the country refocuses after leaving the EU, the UK wants to address that underrepresentation across the region and, in particular, here in The Bahamas. “The UK in 2022 imported goods and services from The Bahamas valued at £324 million, an increase of 295.1
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JONATHAN KNOTT
Developer eyes $5m New Providence move By YOURI KEMP and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters A BAHAMIAN developer yesterday disclosed it plans to invest up to $5m in developing a 2.3-acre project close to Lake Cunningham that will provide medical services to western New Providence residents. Dr Theodore Turnquest, principal behind the Tabeet complex, which will be located off Baha Mar Boulevard at the first roundabout north of the JFK Drive exit, told Tribune Business the development will also feature town houses, condominiums and rental shop spaces.
“This is not going to be an expansion of my medical office,” he explained. “It will be mixed use because that is all Town Planning gave me approval for. That Urban Easter feel is what we are going for, so there will be some offices downstairs and some residences up top, and then some residences at the back.” The original plan was to have an enclave where people are able to work, live, shop and enjoy themselves alongside the presence of healthcare facilities. “We can’t go on the lakeside, but we have two acres. We weren’t going to do detached homes. We
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FTX: $7.7bn owed to Bahamas ‘misleading’ By YOURI KEMP and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters A KEY financial adviser to FTX’s US chief yesterday disputed as “misleading” assertions that some $7.7bn is currently owed to the failed crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary. Edgar Mosley, in testimony before the Delaware Bankruptcy Court as John Rays’ team continued their battle with the Bahamian joint provisional liquidators, argued that any sums owed to FTX Digital Markets are “dwarfed” by those due to the failed crypto
exchange’s 134 affiliates now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US. Asked to explain allegations that the Bahamian liquidation trio had “clouded the title” as to who controlled specific assets, he said: “This $7.7bn that’s been referenced by the joint provisional liquidators in a few places, most notably in their interim report, in my opinion is misleading. “I’m not saying the number is incorrect. I’m saying they’re choosing to show only one side of the ledger. In this case, these
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AN ARTIST’s impression of the Royal Caribbean project.
Cruise giant slashes PI buildings by 24k sq ft • Royal Caribbean eyes ‘acoustic barrier’ to control noise • Beaches will be expanded on land side, but not seaward • Pledges ‘environmentally progressive’ development plan
UK tells Bahamas: Let’s expand 295% export rise By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Caribbean has pledged to reduce the size of building structures for its $100m Paradise Island project by a combined 24,000 square feet while “building the least amount of infrastructure as possible”. The cruise giant, in new documents released prior to last night’s Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) consultation on the Royal Beach Club, promised it will create “the ultimate beach day” for thousands of passengers with any beach expansion moving inland as opposed to into the sea. The project’s supplemental Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), produced by Bahamian consultancy Islands by Design, disclosed that Royal Caribbean plans to reduce the footprint for its so-called ‘front of house’ and ‘back of house’ buildings by 9,000 square feet and 15,000 square feet, respectively.
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