WILLEMSTAD - The Court in Willemstad has received the new appraisal report of Mullet Bay, on St. Maarten. This was requested during the handling of the Ennia case on appeal, where Ansary and associates are pitted against Ennia and the Central Bank.
This piece of land, once a thriving golf resort and timeshare location, is central to the dispute over Ennia's solvency damage. Attorneys representing Hushang Ansary and Ralph Palm have officially submitted the report, a key component in determining the final compensation. At the behest of the Court, the parties have arrived at a joint appraisal, which is now under review.
The Court in Willemstad has previously stated that the valuation of Mullet Bay, significantly overvalued in the financial statements, is crucial in assessing the legitimacy of (dividend) distributions, which resulted in substantial amounts being withdrawn from Ennia's assets.
In the context of this case, various liabilities have already been established for Ansary and others, including responsibilities related to donations, consultancy fees, 'ghost employees,' and the handling of private jet services via NetJets. Some of these costs are linked to the overvaluation of Mullet Bay and alleged unlawful (dividend) distributions.
The Court has emphasized earlier that further expert guidance is necessary to determine the value reasonably attributable to Mullet Bay in the relevant years. Depending on this assessment, the Court will determine whether and how much Ennia should repay if it is found that indeed more distributions were made than legally and statutorily allowed.