BML Properties Wins $1.6 Billion Verdict in Baha Mar Lawsuit

Sarkis Izmirlian’s BML Properties won a $1.6 billion verdict against China’s largest construction group, with the decision describing the contractor’s actions as a “sham and a shakedown” of Izmirlian.

The ruling against China Construction America, the U.S. arm of the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation, found that the construction group defrauded BML Properties in the development of Baha Mar, the multi-billion dollar Bahamas resort, according to a press release. The decision described CCA’s actions as a “sham and shakedown” resulting in Izmirlian’s loss of the $845 million BML invested in the project.

Baha Mar is a 1,000-acre resort on the Bahamian island New Providence. It has three hotels with 2,300 keys, 284 residences, a casino, a spa and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, according to published reports. The complex also has 45 restaurants, 10 pools, luxury shopping and a water park.

Izmirlian’s redevelopment of Baha Mar was slated for a 2015 opening, a deadline that CCA sabotaged with the intention of sending the developer to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the release shows. The nearly completed resort sat empty, Bloomberg reported.

In the aftermath of the bankruptcy, Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises bought the resort for an undisclosed amount, and opened the resort in 2017. Cheng also owns New World Development, which owns the Rosewood Hotel Group.

“We intend to proceed with the enforcement of the judgment in an equally thoughtful and prudent manner,” Izmirlian said in the release.