Justice Dr. Irving Andre and Opposition Leader Lennox Linton have weighed in on the lawsuit filed by Dominica’s ambassador to the United Nations, Paolo Zampolli, over the failure of the government and other parties to pay him a 5% CBI fee for the construction of various projects in Dominica.
According to Justice Andre, Zampolli filed a petition at a New York court to obtain crucial data relating to an agreement entered between himself and Kempinski Hotels and Range Developments for the development of Cabrits Resort and Spa Kempinski Dominica on May 7, 2015. Zampolli reportedly agreed with Kempinski Group and Range Developments to collect 5% of the development profit after the project is completed and the financial books are closed.
Zampolli allegedly said 800 national passports were reportedly sold under the CBI programme for US$225,000 and that a total revenue of US$195 million was generated. He also reportedly claimed that the government paid out US$30 million to the founder of Range Developments, Mohammed Asaria, and the development director of the company, Kamal Shehada, while his own 5% part which should be around US$7.5 million is yet to be paid to him.
“As I understand it, what he’s looking for is US$7.5 million as what we would normally refer to here as a finder’s fee,” Linton clarified. “That’s the person who brings the players together and gets the project going.”
Andre said Zampolli is praying the court compels the Skerrit-led government, Kempinski Hotels, and Range Developments to release all documents related to the execution and completion of the project so that he can access his 5% fee as agreed between the entire parties in 2015.
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