In the press release from RC Cayman Holdings LLC lawyers, Conyers Dill & Pearman, they say:

“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.”

I am, of course, referring to the acquisition of the Ritz Carlton-Grand Cayman Development who acquired the debt that financed much of the building works, placed the property up for auction, set the terms of the auction including lowering the reserve price from what they first set it, and then acquired the property by being the highest bidder. The reserve of US$177.5M was met we were told. Originally the reserve was US$250M.

No comment is necessary!

What is disgusting is the non-action by the Premier’s Office, when a long time before the auction RC Cayman Holdings provided the Premier with a range of proposals concerning the resort, including the $6M owed by the previous owners, Mr Ryan and his companies.

The release stated that, “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 obligations 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.”

“RC Cayman Holdings and its parent Five Mile Capital Partners LLC remain open to discussing with Government all and any arrangements for the future redevelopment of the property and are committed to maintaining and enhancing the status of the Ritz-Carlton Resort which contributes to the reputation of the Cayman Islands as a world-class destination.”

You can view the whole release in our story in today’s iNews Cayman “$6M Government Stamp Duty lost by inaction”

So what is Premier McKeeva Bush going to say now? He cannot lay the blame on the previous PPM government for this fiasco.

Perhaps he can sue Mr. Ryan or one of his companies – but then that might be a waste of money too.