NASSAU, BAHAMAS: Michael Scott KC, the Bahamian attorney for Old Bahama Bay’s owner, Lubert Adler-Old Bahama Bay (LRA-OBB), is accusing Freeport police of “rogue” behavior, alleging officers prevented the property owner from reclaiming possession of the West Grand Bahama resort and marina and allowed individuals he described as trespassers to remain on the property.
The allegations have prompted a formal complaint to Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles, with Scott claiming police improperly intervened in what he considers to be a private commercial dispute between LRA-OBB and Island Ventures Resort and Club Ltd. (IVRC).
”They would not allow them to remove the trespassers. They are trespassers because their licence has been cancelled. We were stopped,” Scott said.
Scott added: “We have written the Commissioner of Police and asked her to intervene to stop what we consider to be ‘rogue’ behavior on the part of the police in Freeport. The police stopped us from taking possession from the trespassers who are now in possession of my client’s property.”
The dispute centres on ownership, management and control of Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina. Lubert Adler, the US-based real estate financier, owns the property through LRA-OBB, while IVRC, headed by John MacDonald and formed by condominium owners, has managed operations at the West Grand Bahama resort since the original developer defaulted more than a decade ago.
LRA-OBB moved to terminate IVRC’s management licence and transition operations to a new hospitality company, Kingwood International Resorts. However, IVRC and the condo owners have resisted the takeover, maintaining they will not vacate the premises without a formal court eviction process.
LRA-OBB has argued that IVRC’s management licence was terminated and that the company no longer has the legal authority to remain in control of the property. The company has also alleged that IVRC owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid VAT, real property taxes and marina dockage fees — claims IVRC has disputed.
The dispute has also become tied to wider questions surrounding the property’s valuation and real property tax obligations. Lubert Adler and Kingwood have challenged both the Department of Inland Revenue’s valuation of the property and the amount of real property tax arrears assessed by the government.
The Department of Inland Revenue is said to have valued the property at approximately $36 million, while Lubert Adler and Kingwood have relied on independent appraisals placing the value closer to $15 million. The disagreement over the tax assessment has been taken before the independent Tax Appeal Commission, where both sides have completed arguments and are awaiting a ruling.
The tax dispute is also connected to a proposed sale involving a portion of the former Ginn Sur Mer development. The Department of Inland Revenue has accepted a $26 million offer from Bristol Pointe Ltd., an affiliate of Coakley International, to purchase approximately 1,143 acres of the property.
However, that sale process has been temporarily stalled following a Supreme Court order issued by Justice Franklyn Williams on March 12, 2026. The order requires the Department of Inland Revenue and the Bahamas Treasurer to refrain from completing the transaction until appeal proceedings filed by LRA-OBB, Resorts Holdings and their managing agent, Reunion Cay Island Resort LLC, before the Tax Appeal Commission have been concluded. Parties reportedly appeared before the Commission last month, with a decision now pending.
