NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Tourism, Aviation and Investments Minister Chester Cooper confirmed yesterday that the Davis administration is “reviewing the files” of a proposed $60 million Cat Island development whose principals have been charged in a multi-million investment fraud scheme.
Regarding the Sahota family’s Almost Paradise Development, Cooper said: “We are reviewing the files. However as the principals are now involved with a court action, we will have no public comments on the matter.”
According to Cooper, the development was approved by the former administration in 2020.
The development is due to have a virtual public hearing on its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) next Tuesday.
Last December, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against Heartland Group Ventures and seven other Heartland-affiliated entities, including Heartland Drilling over a scheme in which $122 million was raised from 700 investors supposedly for work on existing and drilling new oil wells. James Ikey, John Muratore, Thomas Brad Pearsey, Rustin Brunson, and, Manjit Singh (aka Roger) Sahota were all named in the complaint.
According to the SEC, The Heartland Defendants sent about $54 million of investor funds to Sahota, who used the funds to make purchases that included “a private jet, a helicopter, real estate in the Bahamas, and on other non-oil and gas expenditures.”
Sahota and his family have denied the claims against them, and attempts to reach them were unsuccessful yesterday.
According to the EIA conducted by Bahamas-based Waypoint Consulting, the proposed Sahota development is situated on approximately 50 acres in the vicinity of Greenwood, Cat Island.
“The mixed-use development features a 20-room boutique hotel, 18 villas, four hilltop villas, one private residence, and amenity/recreational facilities to be constructed over three phases.”
One Cat Island resident, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: “No one on Cat Island knew about this deal. Local government never saw the plan. Town planning never saw the plan for this place. No one has an idea what they want to build or want to do.
The resident added: “It should have come through the local town committee first. It should have come through Cat Island first. We don’t even know if these people have a Heads of Agreement. They never had a meeting with the community.”
