An interview with Bahamas landlord Barry Connor
This is as I took it down verbatim.
Did Claire Gauci Borda actually ever stay in the Bahamas?
No, I never saw her in the Bahamas. She never came here. Her sister Louisa did, though – she came out with her father in August. They arrived on the 21st and stayed a few days. I know they were still here on the 24th, because there was a barbecue and they were there.
So where did Mrs Gauci Borda sign the contract, if not in the Bahamas?
She signed it in Malta, and had it sent over to the Bahamas, which I how I have her original signature.
When John Dalli and his daughter Louisa went out to the Bahamas in August, was Mrs Dalli with them?
No. I never saw a Mrs Dalli. There was no mention of a wife.
Who used the house? When did they arrive, and when did they leave?
They were a group of people. At one time there were a dozen people staying there. I had to bring in extra bedding from off my boat.
They talked about gold deals and investment in gold mines, but you know what, I don’t think there was really any gold being dealt. They spoke to me about some big gold deal they had coming through in December. They talked about investing in some kind of power plant that uses cheaper fuel, for Africa.
They talked about all this money they had coming in. And they talked to me about this idea they had for a charity which employs single mothers in the Bahamas to weave baskets and sell them to tourists. And I told them – what, here? This is the Bahamas, not China.
It was clear to me that by the end of August they weren’t discussing deals any more, but an exit strategy.
How do you know all this?
I was up at the house almost every day. I knew some of those people. I have friends in Malta. We spoke about a trust. I have a trust they were thinking of using.
What struck you particularly?
They paid all their bills in cash. They came here with what must have been in excess of 10,000 euros in 500 euro notes. They had trouble exchanging them at the banks here because they look askance at 500 euro notes. They paid all their bills out in the shops and restaurants in cash.
They were paying everything in cash to the point where they were bringing attention to themselves. People soon found out where they were living. In the Bahamas, if you show you have a lot of cash, you’re likely to get robbed. They had people going round to their house, to see what they could get.
They opened no accounts here and they didn’t use credit or debit cards. They had money wired to them, I think through Western Union.
What was the problem with the rent?
They were staying at the Hilton. They came through a realtor, saw the house and took it within minutes. They wanted it for three months, but I said that I work only on year on year contracts. So they said, fine, they would take it for a year.
The contract was signed in Malta on 14 July for a year. I normally charge $10,000 a month but I gave them a special price of $8,000 a month. They paid me for July and August, and left in early September. John Dalli arrived on the 4th or the 5th on a private jet and they all – the key people in the group – flew out again on the same jet on the 7th or 8th.
They left from Nassau airport at 1am, when customs and passport clearance are closed, and headed for Halifax to refuel before crossing to Europe. I think they had to go right up to Halifax for that because one of their number couldn’t enter the United States.
They left a couple of people behind in the house, Americans who didn’t even have their fare back home. I had to buy their air tickets so that they could go back, but I billed Claire Gauci Borda for that, along with the utility bills that hadn’t been paid.
Did they pull out of their tenancy agreement?
No, they kept saying to me that they were coming back. Even in January they said they were coming back, when I was chasing them for the rent I was owed.
I had a month’s rent as a security deposit, and payment for July and August, which means they owed me $72,000. I came to Malta to try and get it, because my emails were ignored or met with excuses. I came in December, January and February.
Did you meet John Dalli when you came to Malta?
No, because he was in Brussels and staying away from Malta at the time. The first time I went, it was to that place opposite The Palace hotel. Claire’s husband opened the door. They got a shock when they saw me on their doorstep. More excuses – we don’t have the money, the money’s coming through, we’ll pay you soon…we have a major gold deal coming up…I never broke off contact with them, because when you’re owed money you have to keep the relationship going until you get it back.
When did they pay you, and was it the full amount?
Yes, they paid it all up. I’m not owed anything by them and can put the unpleasant experience behind me. Because the Bahamas and Malta are both in the British Commonwealth, it’s relatively straightforward to serve people in Malta with papers from the courts in the Bahamas.
So I began preparing the documents for judicial service, and let them know that this was my last resort after all my requests had been rebuffed with excuses. The last of the money arrived by wire transfer two days later.
Court documents would have made the matter public, and I suppose Claire Gauci Borda didn’t want the newspapers reporting on how she was being sued for tens of thousands of dollars outstanding on a villa rental out here in the Bahamas. I gathered there was an election campaign going on there. It was Claire who authorised and signed for the wire transfer. It came through HSBC in Malta.
You said that you discussed a trust with Dalli.
Yes, they were talking about a trust in the Bahamas with his daughters as protectors of the trust through a company. They couldn’t be trustees because trustees have to be Bahamanian.
Were you going to be the trustee?
No.
Was it you who contacted The New York Times, or did they track you down?
They tracked me down, and I don’t know how they did that, how they had the information. I had forgotten about those people. They had paid and that was it. I preferred to forget them. It was only when the journalist from The New York Times contacted me that it brought it all up again.
OLAF said it might reopen its investigation after finding out about Dalli’s Bahamas visits.
But they knew about it. OLAF knew. I told OLAF around 28th/29th November about Dalli’s trips to the Bahamas and the purpose for them. I did that because I wanted to cover myself. The last thing I wanted was to be accused of blackmailing him. So I told them about the situation before I began chasing my money properly and visiting Malta to try and get it.
-Ends-
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Comments should be made by Saviour Balzan.
So OLAF knew, so the Maltese Police knew; so Joseph Muscat knew.
Yes, with hindsight …
WOW. Speechless. Well done.
Important question.
Is Mr. Dalli’s passport stamped for his visits at the Bahamas?
Peter Paul Zammit should find out.
We now know that Mr. Dalli has been to the Bahamas twice. He said that on the first occasion he did not land (well, the plane may have landed, but he implied that he did not spend time on the Bahamas).
In his second visit, he spent time at Mr. Connor’s villa. So Dalli’s passport must be stamped at least on this second visit.
The use of the cash and no visas makes this question more relevant.
[Daphne – That would be why he didn’t leave the plane when he went for that ‘weekend’. If you remain in transit, on the plane or in the transit lounge, your passport doesn’t get stamped as you haven’t technically entered the country.]
True, but that is what he said. And fair enough, we can for a moment accept it about the first trip (June).
But what about the September trip? John Dalli returned to the Bahamas between the 4th or 5th and the 7th or 8th of September. At that point, he was still the EU Health Commissioner – John Dalli resigned on 16th October 2012.
In the September trip he did land. Did he have his passport stamped in the Bahamas, while he was still EU Commissioner and while he knew that there was an OLAF investigation?
Mr. Connor has made an important statement about that September trip: “They left from Nassau airport at 1am, when customs and passport clearance are closed…”
We don’t know whether Mr. Dalli arrived during the night on the 4th or 5th September. It could be that his passport was never stamped.
The first trip was in June, so this was before the villa was rented in August. Which means that he could have landed and exited the airport formalities, but Mr. Connor could never know about this.
Now I am getting a bit confused. Did Dalli also travel to the Bahamas in August, after the first trip in June? That makes it three, not two trips, right?
“I think they had to go right up to Halifax for that because one of their number couldn’t enter the United States.”
Hmmm. Why?
The only reason I can think of why a person wouldn’t land in the US is because there is an arrest warrant out on him or her. If it was just for refuelling he could have stayed on the plane while they refuelled.
As long as one does not disembark one isn’t considered as having entered the country, so matters such as not having a visa and such would not present any problem.
However if a person is wanted by the authorities they can still arrest him. Actually even if the plane doesn’t land and just enters US air space US air space they even have the right to force the plane to land to arrest a wanted person known (or suspected) to be on board.
So it seems that somebody in that group had some document problems, you still need some influences to move around, even if you use a private plane.
A copy of that manifest will be really good.
As I see it,nothing but another storm in a teacup
I hope that someone has checked Barry Connor’s credentials.
[Daphne – You sound narked, Silvio, because your friend didn’t tell you anything about this, still less invite you to go with him, and you had to find out through the newspapers. ]
Wow! Thanks for that earth-shattering intervention, Mr. Loporto.
Daphne, you can’t fault his reasoning. Time to pack up your laptop and take up knitting or something.
‘Storm in a teacup’ – getting a bit old now, don’t you think?
Come on Daphne, you know quite well I’m too old for those long hauls.Thank God one can do so many things on the internet without leaving his country.
Daphne, your investigative work is just superb.
Thanks for keeping us up to date and to tell us what others want to hide.
From what Mr. Connor has said, my conclusion is that the Dallis had in mind to lease the villa for only three months.
This is what they asked for, and this is what they paid for originally.
They were compelled to enter into a one year contract, but it seems that once they understood the mechanics of how the rent was due to be paid, they accepted the contract knowing that after the third month they will be out.
Which means that in my view, the focus of attention must remain on what happened in those three months from June to September.
Nispera ma xi jigix xi kretin iehor u jghid li l-blog ta’ Daphne tellef lill-PN l-elezzjoni. Ara jistax ikun.
Catch me if you can…
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/15/56232528/
Gaddafi and his gold…..seems like someone is finding a way how to dispose of this gold.
Is it possible that Silvio Loporto believes what Dalli is saying. How naive – as a retired businessman he should be more astute and know about Dalli’s record eg Daewoo/tickets booked through his daughter’s travel agency etc. etc.
Daphne,
Am I the only one finding it strange that Dalli talked about investing money in a power station running on cheap fuel in December i.e. when the Labour election campaign was being drawn up?
Another thing, Mr Connor seems to have implied that Dalli family had something to do with the election and did not want to reveal details. Is that not suspicious too?
Daphne you left me stunned. You are really unique in your work. Thanks for all the information you give us.
Was there a Mario Galea in the group?
Knowing the names of the people in this group would crack this case wide open. Might even explain Dalli’s sudden popularity with new government.
They went to a lot of trouble to hide their presence by not using credit cards.
The questions to ask are who were the dozen people who joined him and why. Why did they stop in halifax and why couldn’t they enter US soil?
Daphne, what a story. I am very intrigued now. Will we ever find out who were the people with John Dalli?
Olaf must have informed Muscat when he became the PM, so why on earth he made Dalli an important part of his government?
Well done Daphne. This website is a wonderful source of information. So much for Dalli’s mass of thanksgiving.