Jersey in Ireland: Questions for Election Candidates

http://www.independent.ie/business/aibs-jersey-chief-sacked-from-his-role-in-waterfront-enterprise-board-1429470.html

I missed this a few days ago, dated July 08 2008.

The Irish Independent reported that:

THE chairman of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) in the Channel Islands (CI) has been sacked from his position as chairman of Jersey's Waterfront Enterprise Board (WEB) over his role in a property project involving Harcourt Developments. Gerald Voisin, a former Jersey politician, was removed from his role on WEB after 22 members of the Jersey parliament voted that he should go because he failed to declare that he was chairman of the CI branch of AIB -- a subsidiary of AIB which is backing Harcourt as a preferred bidder in the development of a £330m financial services centre in St Helier called the Esplanade Quarter.

Regarding their reporting of the case, Terry le Sueur really does not come out of it very well.

All sorts of accusations were asserted during the three-hour debate last week in Jersey with some 22 politicians speaking out against his role on WEB. Mr Voisin released a statement to the media last week stating that he had no involvement with AIB in Dublin and its transactions with Harcourt and refused to step down but he was later asked to resign his position. Last week Senator Jim Perchard also stepped down stating that he did not want to "swim in murky waters". He said he thought that Mr Voisin's chairmanship in both companies was too much of a "cosy relationship". Support for Mr Voisin came from Treasury Minister Terry Le Sueur, among others, who said the timing of the proposition was wrong and would not be good governance.

It also mentions that the Harcourt development is going to be on-hold at least until the Irish hearing in October 2008, which if it takes eight weeks (it may not) would take us to December 2008! That is not counting how long the Nevada case may go on for either.

That means that it will be a new States (post-elections) that will be looking at the results of the "due diligence checks", which should be interesting. Candidates therefore should expect to be asked questions about the Waterfront (and its 1/2 million sunken road running costs).

Harcourt is embroiled in a court action in Dublin with three businessmen claiming that they have an ownership on property deals with the company in Jersey and London. The details of lawsuits against Harcourt in Dublin and one in Nevada have caused a political row in Jersey. Further due diligence checks are being carried out on the firm headed by Pat Doherty, before any development agreement will be signed. Harcourt is strongly defending the allegations against it and an eight- week hearing has been set aside to hear the case in October in the Commercial High Court.