RICHIE ARTHUR AND McALLISTER “PIPER” HANCHELL RESPOND TO HIGH COURT RULINGS AND THE PRESSS RELEASE FROM ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL Popular Turks and Caicos Islands pilot Richie Arthur and former Government Minister McAllister “Piper” Hanchell are speaking out against the Supreme Court land-flipping ruling and subsequent statements made by Acting Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles. In a press statement issued late Friday, Arthur said: “I believe that the outcome is unfair to me as I have done no more than the other Belongers who were also given land and made the land given to them available for development to the Shore Club at a profit. The Shore Club is now under construction and will bring more benefits to the Government and people of the Turks and Caicos Islands than me building a house on the land could ever do. The Government’s policy of empowering Belongers in this case has disempowered me.” Arthur noted that in 2010 the Attorney General commenced proceedings against him alleging that he obtained a parcel of Crown Land by fraud or that he obtained it knowing that it was transferred to him in breach of trust. His press release added: “I denied both allegations and the Supreme Court has ruled that I did not obtain the Land by fraud but held that I did obtain it knowing that it was transferred to me in breach of trust. I was ordered to pay to the Government the sum of $1.5million representing the difference between what I paid to the Government and the price that I sold it for to the Shore Club Development. I wanted to build a house on the Land but was later told that it was in the national interest for the land to be used as part of the Shore Club Development.” The statement continued: “A mistake was made at the Land Registry which resulted in the land being transferred to me for US$50,000 instead of the agreed price of US$200,000. I have paid the extra US$150,000 to the Government following the commencement of the proceedings. I am disappointed that having paid this sum, the Attorney General pursued me to recover the profit I made on the sale of the land as I made the sale only because I was persuaded that the use of the land by the Shore Club Development would bring greater benefit to the Turks and Caicos Islands than me building a house on the land.” The Attorney General’s Chambers and the Civil Recovery Unit have lost the land-flipping case against former Director of Planning Clyde Robinson, but they won the court action that was brought against Richie Arthur, the former pilot for ex-Premier Michael Misick. Both judgments were handed down by Madame Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale in the Turks and Caicos Islands Supreme Court over the past few days. Arthur and Robinson were represented by Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick, while the AG’s Chambers was represented by British Queen’s Counsel David Phillips, Patrick Patterson and Rowan Cosgrove. In a press release, Acting Attorney General of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Rhondalee Braithwaite, said: “We are delighted to have been successful in obtaining judgment in the claim against Richardson Arthur. This is another substantial judgment for the civil recovery team, at $1.35m (less $200,000 already paid to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government by Mr Arthur) plus more than five year’s interest. The claim arose out of a serious case of land ‘flipping’ which took place in 2008; Mr Arthur acquired a piece of Crown land for $50,000 and then almost immediately sold it on for development for $1.35m.” She added: We welcome the Judge’s finding that McAllister Hanchell, then Minister of Natural Resources, breached his fiduciary duties as Minister by directing the use of an out of date valuation (paragraph 58) in connection with the sale; and that he also exceeded his delegated authority to transfer Crown land and abused his position in order to convey the freehold title to Mr Arthur (paragraph 59). We also welcome the finding that Mr Arthur knew that the transfer to him on the beneficial terms that Mr Hanchell directed was wrong. Judgment in this claim is an important milestone in the civil recovery programme. It demonstrates that a serious abuse occurred in the management of Crown land, the Turks and Caicos Islands’ prime asset. We are very pleased that this abuse has been dealt with by the Courts. It also adds significantly to the judgments obtained by the Civil Recovery team. Since April of this year, the team has obtained judgments and cash recoveries of nearly $4m alone, as well as recovering nearly 600 acres of land. The Civil Recovery team has now obtained cash and judgment orders or agreements to pay totaling over $23.3m, and has recovered nearly 3,100 acres of land which has been or is being re-registered as Crown land.” What the Acting Attorney failed to mention was that the law firm Edwards Palmer Wildman which hired by the Attorney has been paid in excess of US$16million so far for these cases and that the legal bill is climbing. The press release added: We have also received and are reviewing the judgment in the claim against Clyde Robinson and his former wife, Susannah Bishop. We are disappointed not to have also been successful in that claim. Like the Arthur case this also involved the acquisition of a piece of Crown land (adjacent to that acquired by Mr Arthur) by Mr Robinson, who transferred it to his then wife, who then sold it for $1.5m to the same developer as Mr Arthur. Again we welcome the Judge’s finding that McAllister Hanchell breached his fiduciary duties by directing the use of an out of date valuation (paragraph 64); it is, however surprising that the Judge found that Mr Robinson’s conduct was not unconscionable, nor was it a breach of his own fiduciary duties as a senior Government official. We are troubled by those findings and we will be considering the judgment carefully and whether we should appeal.” In a separate press release, Hanchell said he felt obliged to respond to the press release issued by Braithwaite-Knowles, whom he had the pleasure of working with as an elected Minister of Government. Hanchell stated: “I note her delight to have received Judgment against Richardson Arthur and her disappointment as it relates to Clyde Robinson. I also note that she is troubled by the decision of a Judge of the Supreme Court in Clyde Robinson’s case and that she is considering spending more of the public’s money to pursue an appeal. The public must have grave concern as to the ongoing spending of its money without any accountability to the People of the Turks and Caicos Islands by the Acting Attorney General and most notably the entire Judiciary must take offense to her arrogance towards a sitting Supreme Court Judge in a public statement.” The former Government minister added: “As for me, the welcoming of the Judges findings by the Acting Attorney General is a total misrepresentation of what is inferred in the decision and the selective reference to particular statements intended to create mischief against me. I was not party to either of these proceedings and cannot comment further in this regard, however it is unfair that the Attorney General sought to make me a central figure in the case, without joining me in as a defendant or calling me as a witness. It is of some significance that in paragraph 59 of the judgment relating to Mr. Robinson the judge said “Mr. Misick also submits with some force that a Court should be slow to find an allegation of dishonesty proved against someone who has not been made a party to the suit and from whom the Court has not been heard. I would also say that where what is in issue is a person’s state of mind – and Mr. Phillips has submitted that the Minister’s state of mind is in issue- and the pleaded facts are consistent with two opposing inferences – mistake and dishonesty-and the Court has not had the benefit from the hearing from the person against whom the allegations are made, it is difficult for the Court to draw a conclusion either way”. It should be troubling to all citizens of the country that the Attorney General would seek to publicly condemn me by a side wind, without giving me the opportunity of being heard.”
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 23:06:21 +0000
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