By Dr. Cem Kinay

The Development Company of Joe Grant Cay, Star Platinum Island Ltd has issued a statement today on the matter of TCIG’s claim for the cancellation of the Development Agreement, Conditional Purchase Lease as well as the transaction concerning the purchase of 200 acres of 810 acre island Joe Grant Cay on June 2008 transacted with the development companies of Joe Grant Cay. I want to express my personal thoughts for the recent events, that has destroyed all my businesses in Turks and Caicos Islands.
I am a victim of politics in Turks and Caicos Islands. I have been vilified by a number of forces that caused first the collapse of my Mandarin Oriental Dellis Cay development and appointment of a Receiver in October 2009. Now, I am facing to lose all our works in Joe Grant Cay.
From the Commission of Inquiry days in 2009 until now, I have fully cooperated with all authorities to date. I have submitted explanatory letters to the Commission of Inquiry which were all disregarded. I have met with the Hon. Governor Wetherell, tried to explain our position. I have asked my lawyers to fully cooperate and be transparent with all the facts of the matters and will continue to do so.
On the matter of Joe Grant Cay, I was invited by the Turks and Caicos Government and the his Hon. Governor to invest in Joe Grant Cay. Joe Grant Cay companies were managed by professional managers, and all our negotiations with the Government have been made in complete transparency.
I have never bribed anyone in Turks and Caicos or elsewhere. There is no question that a donation was made by Turks Development LP, Dellis Cay’s parent company for early election campaign at the beginning of 2007. Political donations are, of course, not illegal in TCI and were made by many individuals and companies at the early election time. We have made both political and charitable donations in the past both in TCI and elsewhere and am accustomed to making donations at election time. The payments are made with a view to ensuring good relations with those who may ultimately win power – as is common business practice.
Joe Grant’s 200 acres transaction has been executed through his Hon. Governor Tauwhare in June 2008, who has asked the appointment of an independent commercial appraiser BCQS to price the freehold land just before the proposed day of the transaction. We have paid the exact value they asked to pay. In terms of the local partners, The Attorney General’s office has conducted its due diligence as in all Crown Land transactions, and has cleared us and Don Gardiner as my local partner.
The Government now claims that the ex-Premier’s cousins were my partners. They base their claim on an undated piece of paper. I have never known, seen, talked to the ex- Premier’s cousins in my entire life. I have not gifted anything to them. On the matter of Dellis Cay, after the appointment of the Receiver, I am working very hard to save my project from Receivership, and find a solution with the financial
institutions at the satisfaction of all stakeholders. My ultimate goal is to find a solution that includes our purchasers.
I have no doubt that the obstacles experienced by Dellis Cay and Joe Grant Cay, together with the World Economic Crisis, and particularly the political and economical crisis in Turks and Caicos Islands will have a permanent effect on the local economy and the future of the foreign investment prospects in Turks and Caicos Islands. I will continue to defend my rights and the rights of my companies through the Courts in Turks and Caicos Islands and if necessary elsewhere as long as I last. God Bless
Posted July 22nd 2010