From Caribbean News Now

LONDON, England — A court case cited by The Lawyer magazine as one of the most significant to come to trial in 2016 started on Tuesday in London, in which Harlequin, the developer of the Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent and the Grenadines, is suing UK accountants Wilkins Kennedy for losses and damages of £50 million ($70 million).

The case is expected to last seven weeks and, unusually, the second week of the case will be heard in St Vincent where the resort is located.

Harlequin, a holiday and property business owned by Dave Ames, employed accountants Wilkins Kennedy to provide business and financial advice whilst setting up Buccament Bay. Over four years the top UK accountancy firm was paid £800,000 (US$1.13 million). Wilkins Kennedy partner Martin MacDonald was the representative of the accountants working on the Buccament Bay account.

In 2014, in a case widely reported in the international media, a company called ICE Group, led by Padraig O’Halloran, was fined 2 million euros due to the misappropriation of millions of pounds from the Buccament Bay project. Accountants Wilkins Kennedy had taken ICE on as a client at the same time as Harlequin.

Additionally, former Wilkins Kennedy employee Jeremy Newman publically apologised to Harlequin and the Ames family. His apology and departure from Wilkins Kennedy took place after it was revealed that he was the administrator of an anonymous website alleging that the business operated by Harlequin was a fraudulent scheme. Wilkins Kennedy and Martin MacDonald denied any involvement and an out of court settlement was reached to close the matter.

IMAGE: Dave Ames, owner of Harlequin, outside of court on Tuesday morning with his wife Carol. (PRNewsFoto/Harlequin)

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-St-Vincent-resort-developer-begins-action-against-accountants-in-UK-court-30740.html