business@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2023
$5.98
$5.98
$5.98
$6.06
‘step FTX chief orders Bahamas: Professional child’ hits $1bn Hand over SBF interviews permits mark By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FTX’s US chief is accusing his Bahamian counterparts of seeking to “shield from scrutiny” details of their interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried and other key insiders that he now wants handed over. John Ray, who heads 134 FTX entities currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is urging the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to “compel” FTX Digital Markets and its Bahamian provisional liquidators to disclose their “discussions” with the crypto exchange’s embattled founder and other key staff on the basis that the contents could be critical to settling their long-standing jurisdictional battle. Opening a new front in his ongoing fight with Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner and attorney, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accountants Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, the FTX US chief has seized on a deposition given by the latter to argue that the only evidence the crypto exchange’s international platform
t 3BZ NPWFT UP TFU AMFHBM QSJWJMFHF BTJEF t .JOJTUFS FY "( OBNFE JO JOGP SFRVFTU t "MPOH XJUI 6P# OPO QSPmUT SFUBJMFS and customers were transferred to the Bahamian subsidiary comes from Bankman-Fried and other former staff. As a result, he is demanding that “Bahamian privilege” - the confidentiality afforded to communications between clients and their attorneys, and in investigating potential disputes - be swept aside and the necessary information by provided by the joint provisional liquidators and their attorneys to his team.
t $POUSBDUPS DIJFG A8JOEGBMM DBO CF NVDI HSFBUFS
JOHN RAY
BRIAN SIMMS KC
Besides dealings with Mr Bankman-Fried and key former FTX staff, Mr Ray’s original document requests - filed with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court last Friday - reveal he is also seeking “all communications” between the Bahamian trio and their advisers and a current Cabinet minister, former Cabinet minister, government ministries, and local non-profits and businesses concerning Mr Bankman-Fried and the crypto exchange’s collapse. Those targeted by Mr Ray are named as Clay Sweeting; Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC and her daughter, Zoe Gibson-Bowleg, who legal papers show also worked for
SEE PAGE B4
$3m Governor’s Harbour project in 45 full-time jobs By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A DEVELOPER is aiming to invest $3m in constructing a 49-unit subdivision and full-service marina at Governor’s Harbour that will create 45 full-time jobs once buildout is completed. SLV Holdings, which operates under the brand name Barefoot Luxury Bahamas, is seeking to develop a 30.63-acre site located immediately to the east of the existing French Leave resort into what will be named Sunset Estates & Marina. The developer’s website includes few details,
indicating this is likely its first project, but the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) produced by Bahamian consultancy, Bron, disclosed that around 40 construction posts will be created during the development phase. The EIA, which was submitted to the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) on July 7, states: “Sunset Estates and Marina at Governor’s Harbour intends to maintain a full-service marina located in Governor’s Harbour on Eleuthera with an overall capital investment estimated to be $3m.
SEE PAGE B10
Corporate income tax: Not ‘holding the bag’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president says a corporate income tax levied on net profits would be “fantastic” for the industry if it eliminates a Business Licence regime that can tax companies into a loss. Ben Albury, also Bahamas Bus & Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business the proposed reforms - if implemented as outlined in the Government’s ‘green paper’ - could ensure that price-controlled, high turnover/low margin sectors
BEN ALBURY such as the auto industry are no longer left “holding the bag” by a taxation regime that is presently levied on gross revenue or turnover. “I think it depends on which one of the
SEE PAGE B9
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMIAN Contractors Association’s (BCA) president says the construction industry is still being treated like a “step child” despite data showing it is already a $1bn per year industry. Leonard Sands told Tribune Business the industry’s economic contribution would be even greater if the Government fully enacts the Construction Contractors Act’s self-regulatory and licensing regime as it would give more developers and investors confidence to do business in The Bahamas. Speaking after the Bahamas National Statistical Institute revealed that construction permits issued in 2022 were valued at a combined $1.044bn, representing a $337.588m or
LEONARD SANDS 48 percent year-over-year increase, he added that the BCA was fielding “at least two calls per week” from US and European investors who are ultimately deterred from coming to The Bahamas by the absence of construction industry regulation. Mr Sands told this newspaper that, as a result, the sector and wider economy are missing out on a
SEE PAGE B18