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According to investigators, who traced money stolen from Canadian pensioners' accounts by the notorious Cayman Gang of Four, fugitive trader Ryan Bateman used Cayman-laundered criminal proceeds to purchase oil & gas exploratory drilling licenses from the Government of the Bahamas, and therefore the victims are claiming that they have equitable title to those licenses. This development may have political consequences in the Bahamas, where Opposition leaders have questioned the sale of the leases to a known financial and domestic criminal, and whether there was any impropriety, or corrupt activity, involved.
Reportedly, the leases, which both Bateman, as well as Atlantic Petroleum Limited, and Bahamas Exploration Limited, claim as theirs, were paid for with funds Bateman illegally transferred to the Bahamas, through a Cayman financial institution, that has itself come under scrutiny, due to a reputed Ponzi scheme that was routed through the bank.
In any event, the former leadership of the Bahamas has been presented with some tough questions. Whether an anticipated court battle, in Nassau, or Grand Cayman, over the drill licenses, will answer them, is another matter. Will a court of competent jurisdiction award the licenses to the victims of the Cayman Gang of Four ? Stay tuned, and watch the fur fly in Nassau, when former government officials fail to address the many questions that remain unanswered.
