What will happen to BTL? That's a pressing and worrying question to many Belizeans tonight not least of them BTL's 400 plus employees, after Friday's judgment by a Florida Federal Judge that Jeffrey Prosser's 4 directors should be reappointed at 5:00 pm tomorrow giving the American investor control of the board of directors and the company even as government holds on to the majority holding with the Carlisle shares and the costly US$57 million in debt it represents.
It's a turn of events that has exposed and embarrassed the Government having now to come under the order of a foreign court. But will they adhere to the ruling of Florida Federal Judge Ursula Ungaro Benages? Well today the Prime Minister was cagey on that question.
Said Musa, Prime Minister of Belize
"But my reaction from what I've seen so far, a quick perusal of it, is that first of all the judge has not addressed her mind to the issue of jurisdiction and I believe, and I stand to be corrected, but I believe the Attorney General's Ministry will have to appeal this decision, at least on the issue of jurisdiction to begin with. Now on the question, as I understand it, she ruled about the improper appointment of the directors, that can be rectified and I am sure it will be."
Jules Vasquez, 7NEWS Director
But on the share pledge agreement, which you all inherited from the International Bank of Miami, it says you irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the District of Southern Florida. It says that in the share pledge agreement.
Said Musa,
"If there is a dispute about that, but there is no dispute about that. That is not the issue. It's a technical argument."
Jules Vasquez,
But in the acquisition agreement you all also surrendered sovereign immunity.
Said Musa,
"No I think you will find that its very limited, the extent to which jurisdiction was granted to the U.S. Courts. The point I am making is that as I understand the ruling it's not fatal in any shape. In fact it goes on to say, as I understand it, that the government has the right to sell the shares because they have not been paid for and the shares do rightly belong to the government now. I don't want to get into the merits and demerits of this matter except to say that I believe steps will be taken very shortly to address the issues raised by the Judge; that should take place tomorrow, Tuesday."
Jules Vasquez,
5 p.m. tomorrow Jeff Prosser takes back BTL by virtue of reappointment of 4 directors thus reversing and undoing all that you all had done on February 9th.
Said Musa,
"Well you are telling me that will happen, I am not conceding that or agreeing with that."
Jules Vasquez,
Well that's the order of the judge.
Said Musa,
"I see."
Indeed we will see by tomorrow at newstime, by which time, presumably, Prosser's directors will have returned to take control of the Board of Directors that they were forced out of 5 weeks ago. And while the Prime Minister says government wants to appeal, as we've noted, the share pledge agreement, which was assigned to government along with the Carlisle Shares, states "each of the parties irrevocably submits to the...jurisdiction of the United States District Court for Southern Florida...for the purposes of any suit arising out of this agreement."
But as the Prime Minister said, government intends to fight that. A statement issued late this afternoon states that government will now go to the Supreme Court of Belize seeking a declaration that the order of the Miami Court is not enforceable in Belize. It's not clear how that will be viewed in the courts, after the government voluntarily submitted to the Miami jurisdiction to hear the case.
