Yesterday, attorneys for Jeffrey Prosser and the Government of Belize appeared in federal court in Miami Florida to argue the case of who should own BTL. Details are few tonight, but the best we have been able to determine is that the judge did not issue and order but asked both sides to try and find a compromise. Freebelize.org is reporting that a proposed compromise would be for Prosser to pay the $57 million in mid-March. Yeah, we've all heard that one before, but with the ownership of the company in such disarray, and government in its on cash scramble, it's not unthinkable that government might pursue that option. FreeBelize.org also reports that part of the compromise would be that former Managing Director John Vondras would be brought in to occupy a special office at BTL until the end of March, when, presumably, Prosser would re-take control of the company.
A senior government official did not rule out the possibility of a Prosser comeback, if he can find the money. But even if he does, it would be a very irregular transaction, because an injunction issued by the Supreme Court has barred government from touching the shares until arbitration hearings on his buyback clause are heard. So if Prosser were to finally buy the company, he would not be able to get the shares, which are locked up by the order of the court. Still, Prosser has to remain very interested because he's been stuck with Glenn Godfrey's US$26 million Intelco debt, which he took over at the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
