Gov’t names persons who were BVI Airways shareholders! Some are BVI residents
Premier Andrew Fahie has revealed the names of persons who were shareholders in BVI Airways; some of which are residents in the territory.
Answering questions posed by Opposition legislator Julian Fraser during Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Assembly, Premier said Pauline Jones who is a UK citizen and a resident in the BVI owned 31 percent shares in the airline.
Fahie said Bradley Goggin — former BVI airways pilot — owned 20 percent, while an aviation company in Delaware, USA owned the majority of 49 percent shares.
That company was reportedly operated by Gerry Welby and Scott Wiseman — both of whom Fahie said were responsible for the day-to-day running of BVI Airways.
Fahie said the government was advised that Wilby, Wiseman, Jones, government’s former attorney Lester Hyman, chartered accountant, Ryan Geluk, Robert Cisella, and US citizen Bruce Bradley were all BVI Airways directors back in 2017.
Premier Fahie said he was advised of this information through Martin Kenney & Co Solicitors — a government-hired law firm that handles fraud and asset recovery.
Large sums paid to Directors
In the meantime, the Premier informed the House that according to ongoing investigations, the directors of BVI Airways were to be paid $10,000 compensation on appointment.
Thereafter, they were entitled to $2,500 for each meeting attended, Fahie said.
The Premier also said that in the case of Geluk, he was appointed to the board on the recommendation of the previous Dr D Orlando Smith administration.
$$$ breakdown
Premier Fahie further said the government-commissioned probe revealed that part of the $7.2 million that was given to the airline was utilized to purchase two aircraft in 2016. Another part was used to pay other associated expenses such as hiring pilots and a crew, marketing, and obtaining regulatory approvals.
The said planes, which were believed to be sold twice, have now been found to be operating in Australia.
“BVI Airways is currently subject of arbitration proceedings in New York and pre-action disclosure proceedings in Washington DC against the government’s former attorney Lester Hyman,” Fahie said.
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All ah dem need locking up and charged for fraud
Let’s deport the lot of them! Son of soil loves deportation.. after we lock them up, to be sure..
The correct name is Jerry Willoughby. Google that ”Baltia airlines fraud” . We weren’t the first we just didn’t to our due dilligence beforehand. We found the planes so who profited from their sale. Also, did any government official receive finders fees for our investment?
We don’t do our due diligence because when we see caucasian people, it looks like we see God. We still have slave mentality. We always put these people above ourselves. But in reality, they are not any brighter than us, we just fall for their twinkling blue eyes.
Well said because.
yes and all we just innocent and stupid, no greed/finders fees/kickbacks in the VI……never
I want to cry for this comment my people waking up my heart full runneth over.
They were not bought or sold. They were LEASED.
Follow the money. Did the lease money flow to any BVI officials or to Willoughby owned enterprises? Did anyone receive a finders fee? How much money did Willoughby eventually put into funding our airline or was this just a gigantic scam? Willoughby knows the answers. Just extradite him.
Would be very surprised if the aircraft were actually purchased. That rarely occurs, even for major, global carriers. Not very confident in the (Google “Martin Kenney Cigna”) findings…
Not seeing any information here that is not easily available via the public domain. Is the suggestion that $50M+ of aircraft was purchased with the government money? Search tail numbers for easy information about aircraft and search for public incorporation details, all from the comfort of your home. AM now wondering how much is being paid for this basic information? Is the situation getting worse, by paying for readily available information?
They were actually only 800,000 each aircraft.
https://www.skyquestinternational.com/listings-for-sale/bae-146-200-sn-e2178-rg-tj-taa/
I just enter the number from a bvinews photo of one of the planes into my internet screen VP-LWW and read all about the $25 million planes. I think it time to show how much we are paying for this free information!
Actually it is normal, one successful USA airline owns its arplanes.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thepointsguy.com/news/delta-orders-15-airbus-a220s/amp/
Look how easily the government was scammed.
You sure they were scammed? Time will tell.
Seems af if your a free thinker. Great question. Have you noticed they have all gone silent? Lol we need to ask how the opporsitio leader got crown land. Walk us through that lol.
Did BVI Airways have any skin in the game? Or the con artists bamboozled the former government like snake oil sales people to get the $7.2M? Still cannot fathom how $7.2M was expended without a debate and decision in the HOA. If the current policy allowed government to expend such a large sum without HOA approval, this process must be changed soonest. The HOA needs to be involved in authorizing and appropriating both Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and Capital budgets and expenditures above a certain dollar value, eg, $100K.
Why the former Premier could not provide the information on BVI Airways that the current Premier is providing? What is the prospect of getting the $7.2M back? We should not be surprise if BVI Airways file for bankruptcy; such an action will be lights out for the VI taxpayers.
For the directors that are resident in the BVI do they have property here? The government should put a Lien on it if so. They should also surrender travel documents and assist with getting this money back.
Yes, these guys do have property in the bvi. Million dollar homes.
yes, good idea. they DO HAVE property in the bvi
It already had a local airline, they could have help develop.
RYAN GELUK TOO?? OUR RESIDENT ROTARIAN BUDDY.WOW
Wow!! Ryan Geluk in this, sad! Thought he was better than that and smarter. Now would he be held accountable and what about Directors fees? Will he pay them to Govt?
please dont believe all you read and take for gospel. Ryan is an outstanding person and was never part of any scam, the truth will out
It’s bad that our then Premier failed us but I know that government usually have advisors and lawyers to review contracts before they are signed. How many people failed to notice that this was a bad deal. Cabinet had to agree with the decision as well so that means the Governor, Myron, Mark, Ronnie, Dr. Pickering and the Attorney General all would have known about the details of the deal and still went ahead with it. Just a simple google on one of the names involved should have been enough to ensure that any contract signed is favorable to the BVI if we were so stupid to do business with the guy in the first place. They probably laughed at us all the way to the bank.
A QC lawyer once said the biwater deal was a deal to good to be true.
We all know how that debacle has ended up.
Yalll want this money back, like Govt gon actually spend it back on yall….lolol
This information has been publicly available for a very long time. In fact, here is a link to an article that was published on the internet in December 2017.
The government didn’t need to pay any high-priced lawyers to find this info!
https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/62618-bvi-govt-takes-action-against-bvi-airways
Publish how much this BVI lawyer that seems to be in so much trouble is being paid!!!
wow this a lot to take in. Thank you Fahie for letting us know. This was NDP problem – always not clearing up things. Leaving things for people to speculate making themselves look guilty of wrong. This one shows that the NDP was taking for a ride. Mother always say ‘if it too good to be true it probably is”. They should have done their proper due diligence instead of diving in head first for a deal to bring straight flights to Beef Island. Good initiative for air lift by poor judgement choosing this company.
NDP: DEM TINK WHITE S**T DON’T SMELL AND HATE THEIR OWN BLACK S**T – SLAVERY MENTALITY
Yet ayo running down the down island ppl here who are cleaning and are not interested in million dollars fraud.
It seems as if the NDP, the former government, was so giddy about the prospect of nonstop flights from MIami (MIA) International to Terrance B. International Airport(EIS), Beef Island, that it may have neglected to exercise due diligence, dot the I and cross T. Its negligence may have resulted in the BVI taxpayers being taken to the cleaners.
The signs were there that the BVI Airways, a bruk airline, agreement was problematic. Didn’t BVI Airways had problems staying air borne on inter-island flights and left owing BVIAA approx $100K? Another sign was the request by BVI Airways for front loading of the $7.2M. It sensed that the BVI was an prey and returned looking for more loot and probably would have gotten it were not for the strong push by the Opposition.
BVI Airways should not have been front loaded with the $7.2M. Instead, the terms of the agreement should have been performance based with guarantees for specific outcomes before it got a penny of taxpayers money. Did the former Premier as MoF made a unilateral decision to front load BVI Airways with funding or was Cabinet involved in the decision. And if Cabinet were involved in the decision, then the for MoF is not out on an island by himself. It is a shared SNAFU.
Ok. The government judgement may have clouded but what about the investors judgement did they also drink the cool aid. Or was the investors part of ownership team? Are BVI taxpayers ever going to be made whole or this incident is spilled milk or water under bridge?
And how many Government boards do these guys still serve and advise on?
LESTER Hyman sits on the board of governors at our college for many year
I’m not so worried about finding the planes. The minister of finance(NDP Gvernment) should be in p—-n. When he get there he willingly would regurgitate the necessary info. The Queen should disarm him of his noble honor,let the original name remain on the hospital and commit 1/2 his salary to the treasury. Its he the master chief have the BVI dragging on we AZZ!!
Now lets find the missing 30m from Pier Park
Maybe that BVI lawyer that seems to have trouble can be paid handsomely for that too!!!
Everywhere you turn, you see this Geluk guy.
Maybe that’s because he does a lot for the community and gives back. Rather than turning all the time, you should consider helping rather than criticising
Are you saying that Geluk has no responsibility as a Director of BVI Airways. Board members are personal liable for negligence and this Board is certainly negligent
Let investigations play out. Rg too tall to be up to his neck in it. He alround good man.
this team that was given the task to investigate this company during making this deal were they blind folded They should be lock up