NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Sarkis Izmirlian, the original developer of the Baha Mar resort, is urging China Construction America (CCA) and its affiliates to “come to their senses” and pursue a swift settlement, after the New York Appellate Division unanimously dismissed the company’s final appeal—clearing the way for enforcement of a judgment now exceeding $1.7 billion.
The ruling marks a significant legal victory for Izmirlian’s BML Properties Ltd. in the long-running fraud case. CCA Construction Inc. had sought to overturn a judgment by the New York State Supreme Court, which found that the company’s fraudulent conduct and breaches led directly to the resort’s failure to open and the loss of BML’s entire investment.
“We are grateful that the Appellate Court upheld Justice Borrok’s judgment, once again confirming that CCA’s multiple acts of fraud and breaches caused the Baha Mar project to miss its opening, resulting in the subsequent loss of our entire investment,” said Izmirlian, chairman of BML Properties Ltd. “We are continuing in our efforts to aggressively enforce our rights against CCA, its parent CSCEC, their affiliates, and all those who orchestrated the fraud, and look forward to collecting on their debt. We hope that they will come to their senses and enter into a rapid settlement to minimize the disruptions to their operations that have been caused by their actions.”
Following the project’s financial collapse, BML Properties Ltd. filed suit in New York State Court in 2017, alleging breach of contract, fraud, and seeking to pierce the corporate veil by asserting that the CCA entities operated as alter egos of each other.
In its decision, the Appellate Division found that the record clearly demonstrated CCA Construction’s complete domination over CCA Bahamas and CSCEC Bahamas, and that such control was used to breach agreements, defraud the plaintiff, and cause the Baha Mar collapse.
The court further detailed multiple instances of fraud and misappropriation of funds at the highest levels of CCA. All three implicated companies are subsidiaries of the Chinese construction giant China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).
In December 2024, CCA sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The following month, in January 2025, BML Properties moved to have CCA Bahamas and CSCEC Bahamas placed into liquidation proceedings in the Supreme Court of The Bahamas.
A spokesperson for the defendants stated: “We are disappointed in the appellate court’s decision, which is incorrect on multiple points of New York law. It also ignores BML Properties’ own mismanagement of the Baha Mar project, which led to the losses suffered by CCA Bahamas, CSCEC Bahamas, the Bahamian government, subcontractors and workers. This is not the last word on this matter, and we intend to pursue an appeal of this decision to the New York Court of Appeals.”
