NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas authorities says the bancrupt Colonial Life Insurance coverage Firm (CLICO) liquidator is proposing to declare funds shortly.
“We’ve been made conscious that there was a settlement with the liquidators and the Trinidadian authorities or authorities that may make the CLICO policyholders complete. The problem we’ve got in the mean time is getting the liquidator current to sit down down in order that we are able to resolve this stuff,” Prime Minister Phillip Davis instructed Parliament.
Final yr, the CLICO (Bahamas) liquidator was given the authority to simply accept a US$110.827 million settlement that would totally repay all money owed owed to policyholders, collectors, and the federal government.
Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder, in what had been hailed as a possible “quantum leap ahead” for the policyholders, gave Craig A. ‘Tony’ Gomez, the Baker Tilly Gomez accountant and principal, the go-ahead to simply accept the sum supplied by liquidators for its Trinidad-based mum or dad, CL Monetary.
“The official liquidator be at liberty to simply accept the quantity of US$110.827m adjudicated by the official liquidators of CL Monetary on CLICO (Bahamas) proof of debt filed on Could 16, 2018, in CL Monetary’s liquidation,” the Chief Justice wrote in a July 24, 2023, Order filed with the Supreme Court docket.
The determine represents the settlement of the CLICO (Bahamas) declare towards its Trinidadian mum or dad. CL Monetary had assured US$58 million, or 79.5 p.c, of the monies its Bahamian subsidiary had superior to a different group entity, CLICO Enterprises, which subsequently defaulted on the mortgage repayments.
Davis, responding to a query from opposition legislator Shanendon Cartwright about when the CLICO policyholders can be paid, mentioned, “I’m suggested that the liquidator is proposing to declare funds shortly.
“The place we’re and what authorities has paid out, the federal government can be entitled to obtain their share of what’s been paid again to the liquidator after which be certain that the coverage homeowners get what is because of them. In order that’s why, figuring out that the funds can be found from the rightful supply, we didn’t must price range for it,” Davis instructed legislators.
However Cartwright requested why the federal government pays the CLICO policyholders from time to time receives the funds from the liquidator, who has promised cost and would have directed Baker Tilly (Gomez) to simply accept. There may be nonetheless the difficulty of when that cash will probably be accessible. We don’t know when that cash will come, so why doesn’t the federal government stand within the hole?
Cartwright mentioned that every of the policyholders would have executed an project of their dividends to the federal government “in order that when the monies are available, the federal government can be repaid anyway.
“So why not pay the policyholders within the meantime, notably because the authorities goes to get the cash, as a result of proper now, about 10,000 of them really feel as if the federal government has deserted them on this difficulty.”
However Prime Minister Davis mentioned he was shocked that the ten,000 policyholders would consider that they had been deserted.
“We consider these funds are available, and they need to be available. I don’t need to say what steps the federal government will take to make sure they’re available.
“However I do know that the monetary secretary was given some particular directions by me final week regarding getting the liquidators’ consideration to resolve this matter instantly.
“However in any occasion, we’ve got not deserted them. We’ve not budgeted, and the federal government will step in if there’s a must step in, however we don’t see that want proper now. We’ll step in to make sure the liquidator does his job and discharges his job appropriately. And that’s what we’ll look forward to.,” Davis instructed legislators.
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