“Miller could seek $70mi. – Lawyer for former MP warns govt. entity” – The Nassau Guardian; July 18^th, 2018

Excerpt from this article; “Former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller could seek as much as $0 million in damages in his lawsuit against Bank of The Bahamas and the government, his attorney Damian Gomez said yesterday.

Miller is suing Bank of The Bahamas for $9, 642, 500.28 plus damages for alleged breach of contract with regard to seven companies financed by the bank, whose assets were transferred to Bahamas Resolve Limited, and since have been put on the market for sale.

Miller and his companies are also suing the attorney general and the treasurer of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for $9,846,639.40 plus interest for failure to pay rent money he claims was due under five leases with the government signed December 1, 2016.

When asked about the issue of damages yesterday, Gomez said, ‘There is a claim against the government the Bank of The Bahamas for over $9 million and there is a separate claim against the government for rents that are due, and that’s just under $10 million.  He is also claiming in addition to those sums, damages, and those damages could amount to tens of millions, depending on what Bahamas Resolve does.”

‘It is now threatening to sell the properties.”

To tell the God’s honest truth, I am totally perplexed by this lawsuit and the grounds on which is based.

Here is what I know.

“Miller claims he financed the Summerwinds Complex through a mortgage at Bank of The Bahamas on August 4 1999.

He claims that he further added to that mortgage eight times over the next seven years until 2011 though loans to Summerwinds (Two Thousands) Investment Company Ltd (SICL).

He [Miller], was allowed by resolution of the House of Assembly on January 15, 2013 to lease his property to the government.

The government entered into two leases with SICL on May 7 2013 and July 19, 2013.

These leases required significant upgrades to the properties.

Miller claims the bank agreed to lend him $2.5 million through Summerwinds 2000 Investment Company for the upgrades of which $185,000 was advanced between February and October 2013.

Miller claims that during the first week of October, the bank stopped the payment of funds needed for the reminder of renovations, effectively breaching their contract and leading to the government cancelling the rental contracts because it could not occupy the premises.”

“….Miller claims and in February 2017, the treasurer failed to pay rent money agreed to in his leases, causing him and the company losses of $8,475,837.40 in rent and $1,370,802 in money ‘expended/committed’ for renovations – a total of $9,846,639.40.”

So If I understand what is going on here’ Mr. Leslie Miller, while being the Member of Parliament for Tall Pines for the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) financed the Summerwinds Complex in August of 1999 through the Bank of The Bahamas and proceeded to enter into two lease agreements with the government in 2013, which included a $2.5 million loan to renovate the building to be occupied by the government but the government at the time did not honor the agreement, a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) of which he was a member of parliament but rather than sue that government for not being one of honor he has decided to sue the present government which has chosen to not be a part of the mess and rather go after the people’s money that was loan to Mr. Miller to renovate buildings to lease to the government – didn’t he and his government raise all eternal ‘hell’ about this with Dr. Minnis and his Stat Care building, something about ‘conflict of interest’ but here Mr. Miller seems all to willing “conflict interest”, borrow from the government, rent to the government in order to pay the government back and make a profit of course.

Is he [Mr. Miller] really suing for monies that he is says is owed to him due to the rent that he could have collected if his own ‘boys’ had not ‘screwed him over’?

But to move beyond the arrogance and politics of it, we find this culture prevalent wherein a person can actually take advantage of the system in this manner because of who they may be, while the average citizen must provide a “lung/kidney” donation and even a first born to be considered for a loan at half the amount and much less the risk, this is inherently wrong and this must be corrected for The Bahamas to advance.

We should all have a sense of true privilege in the country that we call home, not only the select few.

END