LOUIS BACON’S ILLEGAL
BOAT BASIN CROWNS HIS DUPLICITY ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Is Louis Bacon, the Hedge Fund
kingpin, also the All Star quarterback of duplicity?
It would appear that while Bacon
is pushing a friendly environmental agenda through his clandestine political
machine known as “Save the Bays” in The Bahamas, Bacon has perpetrated serious
environmental breaches, contravening established environmental laws and
regulations.
One major dereliction is how
Bacon constructed an illegal boat basin on the $20 million Point House compound
in the ultra-wealthy, posh, exclusive gated confines of Lyford Cay in The
Bahamas which he claims to be his. The
question is whether officials from the relevant Government agencies gave their
prior approval of the dredging of the channel constructed as boat basin from
beneath the house straight into the open Clifton Bay.
Approvals for the boat basin had
been denied by the PLP Government (which was in office when Bacon dredged the channel
for illegal Boat Basin and constructed).
The then PLP Government Minister
of Works, Bradley Roberts and Minister for the Environment, Dr. Marcus Bethel,
acting on the professional advice of the experts in the BEST Commission and in
accordance with the relevant statutes and regulations, refused to issue the
Permit after the illegal works as they considered Bacon’s action to be arrogant
and disrespectful to the law and regulatory processes. They thought to have him suffer the legal
consequences, but were removed from office in the General Election of 2007 that
took place a few months after the illegal works were brought to their
attention.
The Government’s defined policy
at that time and the law of the land, accorded with certain international
protocols and agreements the Bahamas Government was a party to, general refused
the construction of such private boat basins as they could harbor a variety of
unwelcomed and illicit activities, inclusive of smuggling and trafficking in
contraband as well as importing uncustomed goods, avoiding the payment of Customs
tariffs.
In late 2010, after Bacon’s
property manager of his estate was found dead in the pool in what the public
general held as suspicious circumstances, the illegal dredging of the channel
and construction of what many called a “smuggler-type” boat basin as it was
covered from the sight of the public, came to light.
FNM Leader of Government
Business in the Senate at the time, Senator Dion Foulkes, admitted on the floor
of the Senate that ha, supported by the FNM Administration, gave Bacon the
permit after the fact in the attempt to make his activity legal.
Legal experts contend that this “after-the-fact”
issuance of the permit, was not only suspicious, improper and illegal, but does
not cure the criminal offence committed by Bacon under Bahamian laws which
makes him liable to being sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
The FNM, which today is in
Opposition, as was in the 2007 and 2012 General Election, seems to have the
overt support of Bacon, whose supposed environmental charity, “The Coalition to
Protect Clifton Bay” (also known as “Save
the Bays”), have already seen several persons directly connected with it,
as being touted as prospective Candidates for the FNM in the upcoming 2017 General
Elections.
Under the existing law Mr. Bacon,
constructed this boat basin in contravention of Bahamian law and international
agreements, and was guilty of a serious offence and subject to a penalty
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