Bank Of Bahamas: Qc Urges Suit If No Accountability “I urge shareholders and taxpayers generally to call for public accountability on these $100 million loans to the tiniest detail,” he told Tribune Business. “What are the bad debts? Who are the debtors? Why has the Government stepped in? What did Bank of the Bahamas do to try and collect on the debts? If not, why not?” The borrowers involved in the loans transferred to Bahamas Resolve have not been identified, although Tribune Business previously revealed that just 13 were affected. Mr Smith, though, was not satisfied, saying: “The fact that we’ve created another government corporation to whom the debts have been transferred demands further explanation. “As a shareholder, I urge other shareholders to consider demanding accountability from Bank of the Bahamas and, if we don’t get it, to bring a derivative shareholder action suing the directors, the bank and all of the various government ministers and this public corporation, Bahamas Resolve. “Gone are the days when government and public corporations can simply hide under a cloak of secrecy.” Mr Smith added that he “would be happy to participate in any movement by the shareholders to bring a class action”. He added that Bahamas Resolve’s creation was “just smoke and mirrors, and a failure to reliably and properly account”. Bahamian institutional and retail investors collectively own a 35 per cent minority stake in Bank of the Bahamas. The well-known QC added, meanwhile, that a Freedom of Information Act would “oblige” the Government and Bank of the Bahamas to provide details on the $100 million ‘rescue’ “upon request” and what they were doing with taxpayer monies. “This is just one more example in a long litany of recent events that have shocked the nation, and cry out for a Freedom of Information Act,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business. “But a government that is honest with its citizens doesn’t need to wait to pass a Freedom of Information Act. The Government and Bank of the Bahamas could come clean with all the details now without the passage of any Act.” tribune242/news/2014/nov/11/bank-of-bahamas-qc-urges-suit-if-no-accountability/?news
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 02:13:22 +0000
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