The Tribune

* Renew chief alleges 'harassment campaign'

* Says ambushed by attackers outside home

* Court overturns work permit conviction

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The New Providence landfill's former top executive yesterday said he and his company have been "targeted and harassed" in a bid to drive them out of The Bahamas and halt their pursuit of legal claims.

Michael Cox, speaking to Tribune Business after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and fine for working without a valid work permit, said events leading up to those charges being brought against him appeared to be part of "a campaign" being waged against himself and Renew Bahamas.

Pledging that neither himself, nor the UK investors behind Renew Bahamas, plan "to give up and walk away", Mr Cox disclosed he had previously been targeted by physical violence involving an ambush outside his home that left him hospitalised when an attacker smashed what he believes was a large rock on his head.

Saying he "feared for my life at the time", he provided photographs to this newspaper showing a large gash in his head following the attack, as well as clothing caked in blood from his injuries. Nothing was stolen from him during the assault, which he believes was intended as a warning to back off, as were other incidents that involved tyres on his car being slashed.

No one has been charged over these episodes, with Mr Cox arguing that the Royal Bahamas Police Force has failed to "fully investigate". While not identifying anyone he suspects of orchestrating the "campaign" against himself and Renew Bahamas, he also showed this newspaper a message he received immediately after his deportation from The Bahamas was ordered last October.

"Bye, bye. I told you you were under-estimating me," read the note to Mr Cox, which came after he and his uncle, Maurice, were found guilty of breaching the Immigration laws by working without a valid work permit.

"We feel we're being targeted and harassed. We genuinely believe there's an attempt to force us not to follow through on the issues with Renew," Mr Cox told Tribune Business after the Court of Appeal overturned that conviction.

"All this [the work permit case] happened without any evidence and on the basis of a phone call from an unknown person. It was a set-up, and we were framed by someone who was trying to get us to give up and walk away. That's not going to happen. That's not the person I am, and it's not the person the [Renew] investors are. It's not something we're walking away from under any circumstances.

"It's just a campaign of harassment against a British national and foreign investor. Someone out there is co-ordinating all this. It's not just a coincidence. We're not walking away, we're not giving up. I'm still the chief executive, and we are going to continue through all the different legal processes we need to go through, as are our UK investors as well."

Mr Cox hit out after Appeal Court Justice Jon Isaacs, in an oral verdict, blasted both senior magistrate, Carolyn Vogt-Evans, and the director of public prosecutions/Attorney General's Office, for the verdict and the way the case was handled.

Finding that the magistrate had made "a fundamental error" in ruling that Mr Cox and his uncle were working without permits, Appeal Justice Isaacs said there was "an obvious dearth of evidence" and "no prima facie case" that the duo were working.

"There is an obvious dearth of evidence to raise even a prima facie case that the appellants were somehow engaged in gainful occupation. This is a criminal matter and, as in all criminal matters, the prosecution is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the essential elements of the offence are disclosed and are present," he wrote.

"As indicated, there is not even a prima facie case that either Maurice Cox or Michael Cox was engaging in gainful occupation. What is disclosed is that both men were found at a site which apparently dealt with metals and heavy machinery; that both were dressed in a manner which suggested that they were working. While that is entirely suspicious, it does not rise to the level of proof of engaging in gainful occupation."

In ordering that Mr Cox be refunded the $3,000 fine he paid, Appeal Justice Isaacs added: "In view of the court's decision that this is a fundamental error on the part of the magistrate, and in our view a basic error, this decision, as an extemporary decision, will be the decision of the court. We do not intend to write.

"For future reference, those public authorities, when seeking to prosecute persons for breaches of their particular statutes, ought to confer with those persons more learned in the law, more au fait with the law out of an abundance of caution."

The initial probe into the two men had resulted from a tip-off to the Immigration Department. However, the magistrate court proceedings revealed that an application to renew Mr Cox's work permit had already been made to the Department at the time he was picked up. And, despite the case against him, that permit and subsequent renewals have all been approved.

Renew Bahamas, of which Mr Cox is still chief executive, has remained fully incorporated as it works its way through various legal claims involving both private entities and the Government. It has also been paying-off sums owed to Bahamian creditors prior to it walking away from the landfill management deal it signed with the former Christie administration in late 2016.

Renew Bahamas cited the contract's "force majeure" clause, which deals with "unforeseeable circumstances" that prevent either party following through on their obligations, as its rationale for the break. However, Tribune Business understands that the ex-landfill manager has launched legal proceedings over what it believes are "material breaches of the contract" by the Government.

Mr Cox yesterday confirmed there was "an ongoing arbitration process" involving Renew Bahamas and the Government, but declined to say more citing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Carl Bethel QC, the attorney general, also acknowledged that the matter was live but refused to comment further.

However, this newspaper understands that Renew Bahamas is seeking what could turn out to be an eight-figure sum against the Government via an arbitration proceeding that is currently before retired Justice Jeanne Thompson. The former landfill manager is thought to be arguing that the Christie administration never met its obligations, thereby leaving Renew Bahamas unable to perform.

Tribune Business has seen legal documents confirming that Renew Bahamas has settled debts owed to the likes of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and local contractors, and both itself and Mr Cox are also pursuing their own claims against private entities and individuals here.

"We've won all seven of the nine cases so far in the courts, and have two more to go," Mr Cox told this newspaper. "We've fought everything, and paid-off all the Bahamian debtors. There's two more to go through but we're getting there. We've been working, keeping our heads down and are confident we'll get everything cleaned up and get a clean slate. There's been huge progress."

He added that Renew Bahamas had also seen off a $5m claim by Massachusetts-based American Paper Recycling, which had sought to obtain summary judgment via the Supreme Court.