In a Press Release received on Wed (7) from Conyers Dill & Pearman” the headline was “No ongoing discussions with CI Government regarding deferred stamp duty”.

The opening paragraph reads: “RC Cayman Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries RC Cayman Hotel Holdings Ltd. and RC Cayman Property Holdings Ltd., new owners of the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, are not engaged in any discussions or negotiations with the Cayman Islands Government in connection with the deferred stamp duty payments allegedly owed to the Government.”

And the release gives its reasons:

There is no legal obligation for the property’s new owner to bear responsibility for the outstanding duty, nor is there any agreement with the Government for any unsecured debts owed to it to be assumed by RC Cayman Holdings.

On 23 April 2012, RC Cayman Holdings approached the Premier’s Office with a range of proposals concerning the Ritz-Carlton Resort. These proposals included the payment of outstanding stamp duty obligaYons related to the Ritz-Carlton development.

On 14 June 2012, following up on the initial meeting, a formal letter setting out in detail each of the proposals to facilitate payment of the outstanding duty was delivered to the Premier.

Subsequently, the Premier was made aware of the imminent 31 October deadline on which the Ritz-Carlton property would be sold by public auction.

To date, no reply – formal or otherwise – has been received by RC Cayman Holdings from the Premier, his Office, or the Cabinet. This is despite many subsequent attempts over several months to contact the Premier’s Office by direct and indirect means.

The opportunity for Government to resolve the matter of the deferred duty was lost with the October sale.

The rest of the release concerns RC Cayman Holdings’ plans for improving the “world class resort” and the promise to pay the stamp duty incurred on the property’s recent sale. “Indeed, the value of the Ritz-Carlton Property, which was reflected in the reserve price at the auction, was agreed between the company’s valuation experts and the Government Valuation Office, and the company will pay stamp duty at the statutory rate without any abatement or concessions.”

The whole of the press release is attached.