Controversial land deals on the tiny island of Rum Cay are at the centre of a Supreme Court action by a company which alleges that its property has been sold off fraudulently by other parties to unsuspecting foreigners.
A writ filed by Nassau lawyers on behalf of Newport Habour Ltd against Raymond and Merrill Macdonald is expected to bring to a head a simmering dispute over large tracts of property on the island.
The land involved belonged to the late Florida lawyer Effie Knowles, a Bahamian who pursued a successful career in the States and was apparently an associate of the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She died in the early 1980s.
Ms. Knowles claimed to own other vast tracts on other Family Islands which are now at the centre of various disputes.
Newport Harbour is claiming damages for alleged “fraudulent conveyances” by the Macdonalds of land “legally and beneficially owened” by the company.
It also seeks a declaration that the company remains the legal and beneficial owner of all Effie Knowles’ land in the Bahamas.
Rum Cay, with a population of only 50, has suddenly become popular with wealthy US investors because of its new surfaced runway.
One fear is that the new strip is being used at night by drug traffickers flying north from Colombia.
Earlier this year, a small plane belonging to a resident was set ablaze at the airport during the night. Another islander found his aircraft’s fuel line slashed.
Source: The Tribune
