Justice Rishi Persaud has granted an interim injunction in the High Court prohibiting the sale of Ocean View Hotel, which is in receivership, and in the midst of a reported agreement between the bank and current owner, Wilfred Rambaran.
Receiver Courtney Perry had advertised the hotel for sale in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper recently and this was said to have triggered a move to the High Court by Rambaran.
The businessman, who showed an interest in the hotel in 2007, said he entered into an agreement with the previous owner and the Guyana National Cooperative Bank to purchase the hotel.
Bids on the hotel closed yesterday and receiver Perry was also served with the injunction yesterday. The interim injunction by Justice Persaud, which was granted on Tuesday, restrains the receiver and the bank from selling or disposing of the property including land, buildings and erections and total assets.
Through his attorneys Sanjeev Datadin and Fenton Ramsahoye QC, Rambaran moved to the court saying he had entered an agreement with the hotel’s previous owner, George Lord to purchase Ocean View and at the same time, he claimed he entered into an agreement with the bank which was owed a substantial debt. Rambaran said he agreed to pay Lord US$2 million, some of which is still to be paid, and an initial sum of $10 million to the bank.
In his affidavit in support of his ex-parte application, Rambaran indicated that the sum owing to the bank was so substantial it would have been difficult to get a buyer when the hotel was struggling to stay afloat.
He disclosed that the debt was close to $900 million, but stated that when he agreed to buy the hotel the bank was interested in the money it had loaned to Ocean View minus the interest which was just over $200 million. According to him, he entered into the two agreements as stated above and also spent money rehabilitating the hotel which was in dire need of repair.
Rambaran said too that it was only after the bank learned that he was going to pay Lord the sum agreed on that it decided to call for an inflated amount, around $400 million.
He said he has already paid some money to the bank in keeping with the earlier agreement.
The bank is reportedly asking for the sum he has outstanding to Lord, given that Lord still has an outstanding debt.
However, Rambaran is only willing to comply if a court orders him to.
The matter comes up again next week.
