Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Was BVI Airways deal a Ponzi scheme?- Auditor General’s Report

After reading through the Auditor General’s Report on Government’s Financing of the BVI Airways’ Direct Flights to Miami, many are asking if it was a Ponzi scheme. Why they asking if the answer is so clear? BVI should simply work the appropriate and fastest way to get the money back from Dr D. Orlando Smith and his family member Neil M. Smith that has been placed in a position to orchestrate this deal. Accountability means money back, nothing less.

Operator parties had demanded that the Airport runway project not go forward; Old outdated planes leased.


Regarding the two aircraft to be purchased by BVI Airways, the Operator parties initially intended to use the Bae Avro RJ 85 aircraft configured for dual-class.

However, on page 18 No. 57 of the report, Auditor General Ms Sonia M. Webster noted that the Operator parties “opted to acquire two marginally larger Bae Avro RJ 100 jets (with the same seating configuration) from Tronosjet of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Both aircraft were slightly over two decades old and had recently been retired from Swiss Air’s fleet.”


Stop the runway expansion- Operator parties

When things were not going their way, including the Dr D. Orlando Smith Administration’s failure to produce a Letter of Credit, the Operator parties flooded Dr Smith with a stream of unsolicited proposals for additional public financial support and for “compensation for perceived losses”.

On page 27 No. 158 of the report, the Operator parties “alleged that the planned runway expansion served as a disincentive to their prospective investors and used this as a basis for seeking additional public financial assistance in February 2017 in the form of a loan guarantee for $10 million, and compensation for lost revenues. This was rejected by the Government.”


Email pressure from Operator parties

According to the report, pressure continued to be placed on former Premier Smith in the form of a plethora of emails.

The report shows on page 27 No. 163 who were the Operator parties that sought to pressure the Government into providing more public funding. They included:

“i. 25 April 2017 from Weisman – Providing that the Government covers our costs for the next 30 days we are prepared to work with you to find interim and long term solution.

ii. 8 May 2017 from Weisman – The Government should make a short term payment of $350,000 to us while loan (line of credit) details are being worked out;

iii. 15 May 2017 from Bradley – Now is a good time for the Government to buy a significant stake in the venture, offer belongers vouchers for the first year and postpone the airport expansion;

iv. 6 July 2017 from Bradley – We have a lender for $7.65 million and need the Government to guarantee. In the next 7 – 10 days either we find acceptable terms together and reach an agreement or we will be forced to lay off local staff and purse other options on the table. The balance will then be determined by the US legal system.

v. 5 September 2017 from Weisman – We are in discussions with several potential investors to provide capital. They have all requested various levels of support from the Government.

vi. 23 October 2017 from Bradley – There is one last lender/investor who is willing to fund us but it will require some form of guarantee from the BVI Government in order to proceed.”


How dare you ask for information???

After public pressure and no flights, no plane and no way forward, the Financial Secretary on May 17, 2017, wrote to the Operator parties requesting information about their companies.

“This drew a response that was defiant and accusatory with flagrant refusals to provide much of the information and unsubstantiated claims that other such information had already been provided,” according to page 29, No. 170 of the report.

Another red flag for the taxpayers appeared on page 30 No. 179 of the report where it stated: “Despite signing the addendum and receiving the full $7.2 million from the Government, the operator parties continued to complain about the Letter of Credit breach in correspondence throughout the venture in a manner that suggested that the Government was still in default.”

Up to 2017; however, the Operator parties did not show any evidence of their promised $6.M investment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×