Bahamians block Turner

In his defence Mr Turner claimed administrative oversight as his reason for trading without proper authorisation.

In mid-April 2005, Mr Turner was arrested in the U.S. by the Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for wire fraud. He was accused of defrauding as many as 30 investors of U.S. $16million. As a result a group of Bahamians who had invested between B$4million and B$5million in Turning Properties Ltd., of which Mr Turner is the principal shareholder, promptly applied to the Supreme Court for remedies.

In his relatively brief time in The Bahamas, Mr Turner has acquired two condominiums in one of the tony enclaves on Paradise Island; land in Ocean Club estates, which according to realtors could range in price from $1million to "whatever a millionaire is prepared to pay;" and commercial property on East Bay Street to which he has made improvements.

In 2002 he offered Turning House, the main building of the three-building commercial complex for $2 million. There were no takers.

According to press reports, Mr Turner's U.S. lawyer, Joseph Conway, stated that the businessman hoped to raise "between U.S.$12 million and U.S.$15 million" from the sale of the Bahamian properties.

But Mr Turner and his attorneys may find it difficult to raise these sums since the Bahamians, sensing impending disaster, sought and won speedy redress to secure the millions invested with Mr Turner and his companies Turning International Ltd. and Turning Properties Ltd.

In May the Bahamians alleged in court documents that he used the money paid to him between October 2003 and September 2004 to purchase some of his Bahamian properties and applied the monies to his personal use.

Among the orders applied for and received is one that bars Mr Turner and or his agents – Mar Lin Turner (his Taiwanese wife); Van Dimitri (his Australian attorney); Tony Joudi (his contractor), Douglas and Eva, Ms Turner's daughter, from "trespassing, advertising the property for sale."

Equally problematic for Mr Turner, who is a guest of the U.S. Federal government awaiting sentencing in September, is the fact that the order covers "all assets, property, computers and disks, vehicles, books, documents and or records within the jurisdiction, including ALL property and records now or formerly under the control, management and administration" of Mr Turner, his companies and his agents, etc. Incidentally, the Bahamians also applied for and received the right to change the locks on all the properties.

Realising that the curtain had fallen on his activities, Mr Turner moved, but seemingly not quickly enough, to wrap up his Bahamian operation. His wife and Australian lawyer Van Dimitri did manage to clean out the two condos on Paradise Island and prepare them to be shipped to Australia, according to court documents.

But the Bahamian plaintiffs were ahead of him. They obtained an order barring Mr Turner's wife, his shipper, Mediterranean Shipping, and other companies from shipping the three containers of the property consigned to Mores Corporation to Australia via Seattle Washington.

The order extended to Bahamas Customs, which was barred by the Court from transporting the containers out of The Bahamas.

According to reports in U.S. media, Mr Conway is hoping that a deal between his client and Federal officials will mitigate the 20-year sentence and that on September 16 the sentencing date, his client will get no more than six years.

Source: Nassau Guardian