| Government to sell 200 acres of Joe Grant Cay, maybe more | | Print | |
| Written by Richard Green/richard@fptci.com | |||
| Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:43 | |||
 One year after winning back more than 800 acres of Crown land on Joe Grant Cay, the interim government is now having to sell at least 200 acres to pay off a bank loan. The government says it doesn’t have the more than $2.4 million it needs to settle the loan from Temple Trust and keep the land on the island between Middle and East Caicos, and that it believes it can get more than $2.4 million by selling it. In 2008 the 200 acres was valued at $50 million for development purposes and $7.5 million for agricultural purposes. The 2008 sale of Joe Grant Cay for $7.7 million to several Star Platinum companies was canceled because developer Dr. Cem Kinay paid $500,000 to former premier Michael Misick just before the “gross undervalue” sale was approved, Supreme Court Justice G.W. Martin ruled in June 2011. While that decision returned the land to the government, Temple still held a $2.4 million mortgage on 200 acres on which Star Platinum companies planned to build a hotel. The Star Platinum companies then defaulted on repaying the loan to Temple, which then had the right to sell the land to get its money back. “In these circumstances, government has reluctantly concluded that it has no choice but to sell the parcel of land charged to Temple in order to pay off what is owing to Temple; and that a controlled sale by government after proper marketing of the land is likely to realise significantly more for the parcel than if sold by Temple at auction,” a government statement said. The government has asked Turks and Caicos Sotheby’s International Realty to put the property up for sale. “It is likely that proper marketing of the parcel both in the Turks and Caicos Islands and internationally, finding a buyer and obtaining the best price may take some time,” the government statement said. “Government will consider selling other parcels on Joe Grant Cay to a buyer if to do so would result in a significantly higher price being achieved for parcel 30101/25 than if it sells only that parcel. That will depend on whether a potential buyer wishes to acquire other parcels of land on Joe Grant Cay and will pay more to do so. Until the parcel has been properly marketed over a period of time, government intends to keep all options on the sale open.” According to the court’s 2011 ruling, Kinay was developing Dellis Cay when he was granted Belongership in November 2006, and a month later Misick approached him about buying Joe Grant Cay. In January 2007 a company controlled by Kinay paid $500,000 to Misick, reportedly for upcoming election expenses. In June 2008, a government valuation officer said the combined value of the Joe Grant Cay land in question was $178 million for development purposes and $27 million for agricultural purposes. Then Minister of Natural Resources McAllister Hanchell sought and received a private valuation of the property for agricultural purposes that said the property was worth $7.7 million. Based on that valuation, Cabinet approved the sale of more than 800 acres for $7.7 million. Parts of the land were then leased at below market value to other companies. “Not only did the defendants get the development; they got it cheaply,” the judge wrote in his decision to cancel the sale. “There is a very strong probability that Michael Misick with the help of McAllister Hanchell secured the grant of these benefits to the defendants as a result of (the $500,000 payment).” Kinay denies any wrongdoing in the transaction. The Civil Recovery Team of lawyers from the U.K. has recovered or is recovering 956.13 acres of land, including 813.54 acres on Joe Grant Cay. Another 34 parcels of land totalling 142.59 acres are being sought:
All but two of the recoveries were achieved voluntarily without the need for court proceedings. Government is continuing its policy of not identifying people and businesses involved in voluntary settlements to reduce the cost of recoveries.
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