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Criminal Case against MARIO HOFFMAN Dropped with a CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT

 

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AG drops all cases against Mario Hoffman
By Hayden Boyce – Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

The Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), through Attorney General Huw Shepheard, has reached a “confidential settlement” with Russian billionaire and Salt Cay developer Mario Hoffman, who was once at the centre of corruption allegations following the Sir Robin Auld Commission of Inquiry.
A press release from the Attorney General said that after several years of claims and counterclaims, they have settled all current claims and proceedings between his office and Hoffman.
Shepheard stated: “The terms of the settlement are confidential, but the parties have agreed to make public all significant terms. Mr Hoffmann and the Development Companies have transferred all the lands on Salt Cay which they own or lease to TCIG, totaling some 1,506 acres; Mr Hoffmann and the Development Companies have made a contribution to TCIG’s costs; Mr Hoffmann has surrendered his Belongership and neither Mr Hoffmann nor the Development Companies admitted any wrongdoing or civil or criminal liability when entering into the settlement.”
Shepheard added: “We are pleased that these disputes have now been settled, and in consequence that the position of Salt Cay is now secured with the transfer of all the respective lands on Salt Cay to the Government. The Government will be undertaking a broad consultation as to the future of Salt Cay.”
Hoffmann, a wealthy Slovakian businessman, is, indirectly, the owner of over 90% of Postova Banka, a regulated Slovakian retail bank, and is the Chairman of its supervisory board of directors.
Since 1997 he has been a frequent visitor to TCI, having built a house here and spending 2 to 3 months here every year. Since 2000 he has been pursuing a project to develop the island of Salt Cay through a company called DEVCO. To that end he has steadily acquired land on this island from the Government of TCI. Another Slovakian bank, J & T Banka, is a partner in this project. An important part of the project is the creation of a golf course.
The TCI Government, under the leadership of its premier, the Hon Michael Misick, granted to DEVCO the land on which the golf course was to be built, on a 99 year lease at a “peppercorn” rent. In August 2006 Salt Cay Golf Club was incorporated as the company that would own and run the golf club. 50% of the shares in this company were held by Mr Hoffmann’s Cyprus based holding company.
The other 50% were given to a holding company of which Mr Chal Misick, a brother of the Premier, was the owner. In the following year, 2007, the Hon Michael Misick successfully applied to J & T Banka for a loan, made to himself and his then wife LisaRaye McCoy, of US$ 6 million. Mr Chal Misick provided, and J & T Banka accepted, his 50% shareholding in Salt Cay Golf Club as security for this loan.
Former Premier Misick, who is wanted for questioning by the SIPT, is presently living in political asylum in an unknown country. It is unclear if, as a result of the settlement with Hoffman, the allegations against Misick and his brother Chal, will still stand.

Last week, the AG also dropped criminal corruption charges against billionaire developer Jak Civre, who was charged by the Helen Garlick-led Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) with bribery in connection with the construction of the Seven Stars project. Those charges were dropped, purportedly because of his health and age, but after Civre paid close to US$5million to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government as part of a civil recovery settlement.

Meantime, the Government press release quoted Hoffmann as saying: “We have at all times maintained our innocence with respect to all allegations of misconduct and corruption made against us and determined that it was most convenient and expedient to enter into the settlement rather than continue on with the disputes in relation to Salt Cay. We are pleased to put these disputes behind us. We have maintained our innocence at all times and continue to think that our project for Salt Cay was a good one for the people of Salt Cay and the Turks and Caicos Islands. After litigating these issues for several years, in light of all mutual claims we felt it best to settle these disputes now and move forward with our other businesses. We thank the people of Salt Cay for their trust and confidence in us.”
In his final report, Commissioner of Inquiry Sir Robin stated: “There is, in my view, information and evidence before the Commission suggestive of the involvement of the Hon Michael Misick in corrupt dealings in relation to the Government’s transactions with Mario Hoffmann on behalf of DEVCO and of Chal Misick’s knowing assistance and complicity in it. Whatever the value and worth of the Salt Cay development as a whole, the Commission is unable to accept the account of Mr Hoffmann in relation to the appointment of Mr Chal Misick as a partner in the project.”
Sir Robin Auld also wrote: “I find that there is information of possibly corrupt and/or otherwise seriously dishonest involvement, including misfeasance in public office, of the Hon Michael Misick in relation to the Government’s transactions with Mario Hoffmann of DEVCO for the development of Salt Cay:
1) in respect of his participation in that development with Chal Misick’s knowing assistance and complicity in it, as described above;
2) in the potential abuse of his public office by accepting lavish and disproportionate hospitality from Mario Hoffmann, including the use of private aircraft, the provision of international flights and other hospitality in the course of developing business relations between DEVCO and the Government;
and 3) in potential abuse of his public office by seeking and accepting a loan of $6 million from J&T Banka when that Bank, on its own account, was in negotiation with the Government over funding and participation in the development of Salt Cay. I, therefore, recommend criminal investigation by the police or others of the possibility of corruption and/or other serious dishonesty, including misfeasance in public office, in relation to the Hon Michael Misick in respect of those matters.”
* Posted on July 17, 2012

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Documents News

Dellis Cay Development Agreement signed by Hon.Governor Tauware in 2005

Link: 31July2005- Dellis Cay – Development Agreement signed

Between Dr.Cem Kinay nd  Hon.Governor Tauware on 31th July 2005.

Please compare both Development Agreements signed  for Dellis Cay ,DA from 1997,before I purchased  Dellis Cay in 1997

and  2005,when I  purchased Dellis  Cay.

I am asking again Hon.Governor  Todd to publish all DA’s in the last 20 years  for TCI People.

I am asking Helen Garlick to extend their investigations  for all DA’s and political donations in this country.

The TCI people has the right to know the TRUTH’s.

God Bless.

Dr.Cem Kinay

Developer of Dellis Cay Turks and Caicos Islands.

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Genel News

VIEW ABOUT COLLATERAL DAMAGE by E.Jay Saunders


When do we put the brakes on collateral damage?

Swiss researcher Ernst Fehr once ran an experiment called “the trust game with revenge”, designed to reveal the motivation for vengeance. What he found was that: a) the decision to punish someone who we think cheated gives us a feeling of pleasure, and b) “…the desire for revenge, even when it costs us something and is fully irrational…” is built into us. (Harvard Business Review, July – August 2009, Page 83)

It is primarily because of this phenomenon, why we are seeing – and will continue to see – collateral damage resulting from the Commission of Inquiry.

For example, Sir. Robin Auld’s final report portrays Dr. Cem Kinay as a willing participant in government corruption, because: a) he gave a large sum of money to an elected official, and b) he is trying to keep the details of it out of the public domain. However, while (a) and (b) are true, they do not automatically equal (c)orruption. Here is why, and a scenario of what likely happened that got him to this point:

To keep cost low, Dr. Kinay’s company most likely applied for and received duty concessions from the Government, thereby saving him a few million dollars on the build-out cost for Dellis Cay. During the election campaign a Government minister most likely asked him for a sizeable campaign donation – probably US$1 million. Finding himself in an awkward situation where he could not easily say “no”, Dr. Kinay probably rationalized it as a one off donation to a government who is pro business, and most importantly, one who his pro Dellis Cay. He then probably agreed to donate an amount less than the initial request – although it would have still been a significant sum – and because there are no rules/laws regarding how campaign donations are made, he sent it based on the instructions of the minister.

Although there is nothing in the scenario above that under normal circumstances would be considered corrupt; because the government involved was Mike Misick’s administration, Dr. Kinay’s campaign donation is being suspected as such.

For the record, even if it turns out that the campaign donation was used for corrupt purposes, I doubt that Dr. Kinay was an architect of that corruption.

It is unfortunate, but in today’s world, you are what/who Google says you are, and if there are any references to you on the internet, Google will find it, index it, and archive it. As such, negative materials on the internet can and will affect (what I call) your “Google’s Character Reference” or GCR.

For the average person, their GCR has little or no impact on their lives. However, for someone whose reputation is his/her global currency; someone whose every business deal results in a background check being done; and someone who has global business interests; their GCR is becoming more important than their credit score.

The destructive powers of negative information on the internet is so great to a person’s reputation, that PR firms recommend that if you are a victim of it, to deal with it swiftly and aggressively – even if it means hiring legal representation to have the information removed. As such, it is likely that for this reason alone why Dr. Kinay is keen to keep any negative references to him in Sir Robin’s report out of the public domain.

However, in our desire to punish those who cheated, we want to have the full report in the public domain – regardless of the collateral damage that it can cause.

While there are those who may see some collateral damage as acceptable, the fact is that in order to rebuild the Turks & Caicos, we not only need the defensive strategy of Sir Robin, we also need an offensive (i.e. inward investment) strategy. As the management guru/thinker Peter Drucker once stated, “We have to accept what we all know to be elemental – that taking a defensive position can, at best, only limit losses. And we need gains.” With the economy in free fall, the Turks & Caicos desperately need gains like Dellis Cay. We cannot afford to watch the country go into an economic tailspin for 2 years while we remake government. This approach will only lead to more problems. With all due respect to Colin Roberts, he got it wrong when he suggested that Britain cannot simultaneously promote inward investment while fixing local government.

The task may be difficult, but Governor Wetherell needs to find a way to do both. For “The signature of the truly great vs. the merely successful is not the absence of difficulty. It’s the ability to come back from setbacks, even cataclysmic catastrophes, stronger than before.” (How The Mighty Fall, Jim Collins)

Writen By: E. Jay Saunders in 2009,Turks and Caicos Islands,CEO of Digicell