WASHINGTON, D.C., November 25, 2020 – Bahamas Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis has accepted the resignation of Minister of Finance the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest, who is embroiled in an alleged fraud scandal related to his part-ownership of Sky Bahamas, a now defunct airline.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Prime Minister said he thanked “Mr. Turnquest for his service to The Bahamas, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“I will serve as interim Minister of Finance and will make a substantive appointment in due course,” the Prime Minister said.
In a statement announcing his resignation as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Turnquest hit out at the “unfounded and untrue claims” against him and said he would continue to serve as the Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama.
“It has been my great honour and privilege to serve my country in public office. I have done so with total fidelity and adherence to the tenets of our democracy and the Westminster conventions by which we are guided,” the statement said.
It added: “As consequence of all the unfounded and untrue claims that have been circulating in the mainstream press as well as in social media, to protect my family and in the best interest of my Constituency and my Party, I have offered my resignation as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to the Prime Minister with immediate effect.
“I will continue to serve out the term of my election as the Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama for whose prayers and support, I continue to be most humble and grateful.
“My focus as Minister of Finance has been to deepen our democracy by enacting legislation that reformed and modernized the management of our economy and the public’s finances. I am confident in the team of young men and women at the Ministry of Finance who will continue that work.
“When I met with the Prime Minister today I informed him that while I am confident that once the allegations against me has (sic) been fully ventilated through the courts my reputation of transparency and accountability will be vindicated. I did not want a private business dispute, which occurred prior to my taking public office, to become a distraction to the Government, or to the important national work that lies ahead.”
Continuing, the statement added: “Our nation is undergoing an unprecedented time in its history. We are fighting a global pandemic, resulting in unprecedented economic challenges and a difficult road ahead to maintain stability and recovery. We must all continue to commit to doing our part.
“I look forward to putting this matter behind me and continuing to encourage modernization and reform in our country, to which I remain so grateful for allowing me to serve.
“At an appropriate time, I will have more formal comments to make in regards to the circumstances of the allegations made against me and the actors that have perpetuated it.”
The alleged fraud allegations surfaced in a statement of claim filed in the Bahamas Supreme Court last week claiming that Mr. Turnquest and his Sky Bahamas business partner Captain Randy Butler, “dishonestly caused” Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation to “pay away” $20.68m and $5.917m respectively to the airline via “some kind of bogus loans,” according to an article in The Tribune, one of The Bahamas’ leading newspapers.
“However, Mr. Turnquest is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and no particulars were giving describing how the scheme worked, but the plaintiff alleges Mr. Turnquest and Captain Butler used ‘some 39 fraudulent invoices and/or book entries, and for no adequate consideration’ drained away some $3.8m paid by Alpha Aviation to Aviation Oversight Group via 39 separate cheque payments between February 2008 and July 2016,” The Tribune article noted.
It added: “A further $3.026m was also alleged to have been siphoned off ‘as at December 31, 2017, to AOG Maintenance Ltd, a company that owned Sky Bahamas’ maintenance hangar at Lynden Pindling International Airport.,” the statement of claim by the plaintiff’s company alleged.
It added: “In breach of their duties of honesty and fidelity as directors and/or managers of both the plaintiffs (Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation) and of the second and third defendants (Sky Bahamas and Aviation Oversight Group), and their duties to act in the best interests of the companies, Turnquest and Butler failed to keep or to ensure that the companies kept any, or any adequate, financial books of account or financial records recording and/or documenting the companies’ financial transactions, failed to maintain or keep any proper or any proper management accounts or bank or cheque or wire transfer reconciliations and failed to put in place any or any adequate financial controls or systems.”
Both Mr. Turnquest and Captain Butler have strongly denied the allegations, The Tribune article noted.
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