An investor has alleged that the brother of PLP MP Keod Smith suggested that he should pay $150,000 if he wanted to get an environmental approval done quickly.
But investor Dale Bromstein said he rejected an alleged bid by lawyer Kean Smith to get him to pay $150,000 for a “quick approval”. Canadian-born Bromstein further claimed in a signed Supreme Court affidavit that his refusal to pay $150,000 resulted in his building project being delayed by more than one year.
PLP MP Smith is also Ambassador For The Environment. Keod Smith and his brother Kean are partners in their law office. In his affidavit, Bromstein, of Old Fort Bay, alleged: “My project manager, Peter Bascur, was approached by Mr Kean Smith with an offer to expedite an Environmental Impact Assessment for a retainer of $150,000. This was rejected. And the Environmental approval process, stated to take a few months, delayed my project for over a year.” Such approvals are issued by BEST, the Commission headed by Kean Smith’s Ambassador brother Keod. MP Smith denied any knowledge of the $150,000 claims during court proceedings in the Bromstein matter. And he further alleged that he was not aware that his brother Kean had approached Bromstein’s project engineer concerning a $150,000 retainer to speed up an approval.
At the time, Bromstein was seeking approvals for his housing project at Old Fort Bay, called Charlottesville. Bromstein alleged in his affidavit that he informed Police Chief Paul Farquharson that he was being harassed by cops after a row blew up I over a $1.5 million home he was building for Dr Charles Diggiss in Charlottesville. He further alleged that MP Smith’s law office was representing Dr Diggiss in the matter.
Bromstein is represented by lawyer and PLP Senator Damlen Gomez and ex-PLP MP Valentine Crimes.
Source: The Punch
