TCI Journal Update
Update December 5, 2013
The TCI Journal will resume publishing on January 7, 2014
Please speak-up against the Dolphin Prison proposed for Grand Turk.
(Courtesy National Geographic Photo Contest - all rights reserved by National Geographic)
Update - September 22, 2013
The TCI Journal has in its five year history survived multiple attempts to shut it down by Lord Michael Ashcroft, Cem Kinay, Beaches, Mario Hoffmann and a host of others who were well financed and armed with multiple legal “servants”.
Multiple cases of litigation, multiple cases of private investigators, people pretending to be supportive journalists; a whole host of characters have crossed our path including crooked politicians from both of the two main political parties, the PNP & PDM.
Cem Kinay currently has an Interpol warrant outstanding against him, Beaches and its owner Butch Stewart have settled with authorities and agreed to pay a multi-million dollar fine, as has Mario Hoffmann. Multiple PNP Ministers have been indicted, and additional arrests are expected by both the Special Investigations and Prosecution Team, SIPT, and by United States authorities of PNP and PDM operatives.
Every item we have published over the last few years on the individuals above has been proven correct over time.
We continue to await to see what will unfold with Lord Michael Ashcroft and the authorities with respect to Lord Ashcroft’s association with British Caribbean Bank, Johnston International, Oxford Ventures, Interhealth Canada and multiple other companies that have played a central role in pushing the Turks and Caicos Islands into their current failed state status. We have absolutely no doubt that right will win out over arrogant might in these situations as well.
At the present time we are working our way through yet another attempt to shut us down.
We may be offline for a few weeks or perhaps a little longer; but we WILL return.
Respectfully,
Editors of the Journal
tcijournal@gmail.com
Post Script
While we are away, some things cannot wait and need attention brought to them.
1. Salt Cay
Porter was a bagman for Mario Hoffmann on Salt Cay. He ran “Porter’s Island Thyme”. When Mario Hoffmann cut a deal with the SIPT to stay out of jail and surrendered all his various lands and assets; Porter stripped everything out of the Windmills property (which now belonged to the crown) and hid it.
Now all of a sudden the hidden items have reappeared and there appears to be an effort by some in the PNP government to allow some of the land recovered from Mario Hoffmann’s land to be given on long term lease without public scrutiny and without a proper bidding process.
From multiples sources:
“Salt Cay, Cadastral Map No, 10702/11 & 41, North Bay, North Beach, Ocean-Side, which was first leased to Porter/HaideeWilliams prior to the Crown later taking/seizing this property from Hoffman and now it is up for lease-only by the Crown, itself, actually for the first time (the prior and non-crown lease to Williams apparently continued after the Crown seizure); and requires a bidding process, on the lease as submitted by Williams and no one is able to examine the Williams proposal from an unwilling TCI government who does, in fact, acknowledges its receipt by the Crown and that it is pending but not much more. “
“ The property has two hurricane ravaged roofless building shells on Lot 11, on the westerly side of the lot 11 and and a caretaker occupied single family dwelling with attached garage southerly by/near the right-of-way and two occupied from time to time buildings with four rental unit cabanas on Lot 41 (not shown on the older Cadastral Map, but shown in white on the attached aerial, on the easterly side of lot 41, easterly of the two shells).”
“ There has been no required Crown public advertisement that could be found, either in the Gazette or other newspapers and it should, as a matter of law, be listed on the Crown Allocation Register and it is not, after a thorough Internet search. Where is the transparency.”
P.S. One of the few cases of illegal flipping of crown land referred to by name by Sir Robin Auld in his final Commission of Inquiry Report was one by the now Premier, then Director of Medical Services, Rufus Ewing on Salt Cay. Rufus Ewing has yet (in five years) to make a public statement about which property it was and what were the circumstances around that flip.
(Top of page 95 of Sir Robin`s final report)
"There appear to have been up to 12 grants in a short space of time, shortly before
a significant hotel development there was announced. Most of those receiving
land are related to one another; one is a former PS/Natural Resources, another is
the Director of Medical Services and brother in law of Hon Galmo Williams. Most
subsequently sold the land to the developer at an average profit of 750%, with
individuals making between $300–950k profit each. The total profit to them (and
therefore loss to TCIG was over $4m )."
2. Project Spotlight - We have in recent times brought focus to a situation we have called Project Spotlight. The case of the Trade Winds Condotel and the British Caribbean Bank.
We have, and do this, to bring attention to the Financial Services Commission, FSC, and it’s handlings of complaints against those whom it is supposed to regulate. As well as to bring a spotlight to the disarray and gross lack of professionalism within the legal community within the TCI.
We WILL seek to dissect the FSC’s handling of this complaint and use what is found as a template to hopefully bring about some manner of independent monitoring of banks, attorneys, accountants, and real estate agents; and some better methods of dispute resolution.
At the moment unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to risk by bringing in attorneys from outside the TCI, you are indeed royally screwed if you have been wronged by a local attorney or institution. (The late Harry Clark is one such example of the financial and human costs associated in seeking justice in the TCI.)
We do not expect it will be easy. We expect Project Spotlight to be a multi-year effort.
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