BISL settlement final

Black Immigrant Daily News

The terms of a deed of settlement and the supplementary appropriation bill to clear the sum owed to BISL were passed in the Senate. 

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 29, 2022

Most of a Senate meeting which took place today was centered on a debate over the settlement agreement reached last week between the Government of Belize and the owners of Belize International Services Limited (BISL), which was passed in the House of Representatives last week. By the end of the meeting, a supplementary appropriation bill and the terms of the deed of the settlement were passed in the upper house—making the payment to the Ashcroft Alliance and his partners final. A total of $38.25 US million will thus be paid out to the Belize Bank, and the Panamanian law firm Morgan and Morgan.

Before making his presentation, lead government senator Hon. Eamon Courtenay disclosed that his and Senator Coye’s law firm, Courtenay Coye LLP, which formerly represented BISL in its lawsuit against GoB, had not been legal representatives of the company in its efforts to reach a settlement agreement with the government after Courtenay and Coye took office, subsequent to which BISL secured the services of two UK barristers.

“I wish to place on record two important things, Madam President: 1) First – the law firm of Courtenay Coye LLP has served as attorneys at law for Belize International Services Limited. Senator Coye and I are partners of that firm, and therefore we disclose that well-known fact as we are required to do to this honorable Senate. 2) With respect to the negotiating for settlement of the BISL claim between the government of Belize and BISL, no attorney from the firm Courtenay Coye LLB was involved in any way,” Senator Courtenay said.

As a part of the settlement with BISL, the senator’s law firm is expected to receive a sizable payout for their legal services; however. Senator Courtenay said that the urgency in getting the matter settled was largely due to the large amount of interest being added to the amount owed daily, and he echoed the Prime Minister’s assertion that this payment will end that matter once and for all.

“I want to say to my colleague senators today that the BISL issue is not something that any Belizean should be proud of, but we are faced with a question today: The country is at risk of millions of dollars; the settlement is very close to what government itself said it would pay, and if we settle it, the interest stops accruing, the matter is resolved, we put it behind us, but we learn our lesson,” Senator Courtenay said.

He then presented a detailed timeline of the legal process which followed the takeover of BISL by GoB and emphasized the importance of the ruling of the CCJ, which ordered the government to pay the company but also reprimanded the then administration for refusing to pay the settlement ordered. Despite this, UDP senator, Beverly Williams, questioned the reason for the urgency of this payment.

She remarked that while Senator Courtenay chronicled the origin and pursuit of the legal claim, he failed to mention the 2005 signing by the PUP administration of an extended contract with the company and the sizable revenue gained for the country through the acquisition of the registries.

“You failed to say that in the 9 years that the government assumed management of the ship registry – which is normally state-owned, it’s a national asset – that government agreed that we earned a whopping 90 million dollars US or 180 million dollars Belize,” Senator Williams said.

She said that the revenue earned from the ship’s registry alone was sufficient to cover the 76 million Belize dollars to be paid to the former owners.

“We concede that we have to pay. We concede that it is a bitter pill to swallow, but we have to pay, so what’s the urgency? Why not take the savings and spread it over a period of time and make a payment plan?” Williams said.

Business Senator Kevin Herrera called the whole issue scandalous, pointing out that the signing of the 1993 and 2003 contracts was done on dates close to general elections in both instances, and the 2005 contract was signed during a time of tension between the public and the then PUP administration.

“In this tragedy, perhaps there is room to learn a few things so that this never happens again, but especially with respect to how we deal with the Ashcroft Alliance investments. I really believe that we should refrain from calling these investments and probably start categorizing them as contingent liabilities. Because it always ends up as a liability,” Senator Herrera said. He added, “BTL, 557 million dollars; UHS, 90 million dollars; BISL 78 million dollars — total 718 million dollars through the litigation process. This is a poor country,” he went on to say.

Senator Elena Smith said that the community she represents is tired of seeing the burden of the various administrations’ decisions being placed on the Belizean people.

“I don’t want for anybody to get it wrong, that we are a people or I represent a group that is willing to go against the rule of law. However, I represent a group of people that is now tired of seeing the burden fall on the Belizean people. Our students are back in school; many of them are barely making it; many of them can’t pay their school fees, and people need housing. People need food, and better healthcare. These monies could have been put into those things to make the lives of our people better, yet as my colleagues said, we are giving 76 million to a person who really doesn’t need this money any at all,” Senator Smith said.

Senator Coye, as mentioned, is one of the principals of the law firm which represented BISL in its litigation against the Government of Belize. During his remarks, he said, “If it is that we are to take on a sacrifice, it is better that we do, so that we may make a better future for our children and our children’s children. This, at its very essence, is what this decision is about today. Today we have to decide whether we will pay 76 and a half million dollars or expose ourselves to paying 180 million dollars plus the cost of an interest rate at 6 percent per annum. That’s another 6 million plus per annum on top of that capital cost.”

Senator Courtenay in closing agreed and drove home Senator Coye’s point, saying “It is in the financial interest of the people of Belize to settle this debt on the basis of the negotiations having regard to the litigation risk that this country is exposed to.”

As noted, the law firm owned by both those senators is expected to get a considerable payout for their legal services in regard to the matter.

At the end of voting, both the settlement terms of agreement and the supplementary appropriation to clear the debt were passed in the Senate.

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