With that Florida contempt charge hanging over its head, Government can hardly afford to have another foreign company threatening a multimillion-dollar suit. But according to today's Amandala, that's just what it's got. The Amandala reports that the European airline company Lufthansa is suing the Government of Belize for US$33 million. Money Newco claims it lost when government ditched it after agreeing to grant it a 20-year license for the private management of the international airport.
7NEWS investigations have turned up that the claim against government is filed not by Lufthansa but by Newco a somewhat affiliated company that had made a bid for the private management of the airport in the year 2000. We say "somewhat affiliated" because Newco's owners were former Lufthansa executives who presented themselves to government as current Lufthansa affiliates and tried to carry the deal through. They were convincing enough, and got initial approval for the management contract. But after three years of back and forth with what was basically a paper company registered in Belize, predictably the deal fell apart mainly because the company was a shell. Government then pursued a deal with the Belize Airport Concessions Company which was successful.
But now, Newco represented by the law firm of Glenn D. Godfrey says government owes it damages of US$33 million. Government insiders say it is a frivolous and dubious claim because Newco was duly informed that government was abandoning the deal. Nonetheless, the matter is going to International arbitration before the United Nations Commission on International Irade Law and before such a group, it seems to us, any number can play and one thing you can be sure of is that if any number at all plays, Government won't be able to pay it.
