Prosser disputes reports of loan default
Jeffrey Prosser and his many corporate personas have responded to reports carried on this station and Channel 7 claiming that Prosser has defaulted on his multimillion dollar loan with the R.B.T.T. bank. Following a brief email exchange with Rene Henry, Prosser’s former P.R. chief and current special advisor, Henry made the following statement.
“The transaction with R.B.T.T. is as follows: One; the Government of Belize encouraged Innovative Communication Company, L.L.C., and Belize Telecom Limited (B.T.) to take over a debt of twenty-five million U.S. dollars at R.B.T.T. which was incurred entirely by INTELCO.
Two; I.C.C. and B.T. agreed to do so on the basis that the G.O.B. would fulfil its contractual undertakings to I.C.C. and B.T. to make certain license and legislative changes. Thus, I.C.C. and B.T. assumed the INTELCO promissory note for twenty-five million U.S. dollars. The agreed plan was that the assets of INTELCO would be merged into the assets of B.T.L., creating greater value for all B.T.L. shareholders, and allowing B.T.L. to carry out an expansion programme more rapidly by using INTELCO assets to supplement B.T.L.’s assets, and ending duplication.
Three; I.C.C. put up its thirty percent shares in B.T.L. as further collateral when it assumed the INTELCO note, because this was the first step in a two-step transaction under which R.B.T.T. would lend I.C.C. fifty-seven million U.S. dollars to pay the Government of Belize for the balance of the B.T.L. shares (over the thirty percent which was already paid for by I.C.C. and B.T.).
Four; the Government of Belize failed to fulfil its contractual obligations, thus causing I.C.C. and B.T. to be denied the opportunity of completing financing arrangements for fifty-seven million U.S. dollars to pay the Government of Belize for shares (over the thirty percent) that was part of the contract.
Five, I.C.C. and B.T. were left with the INTELCO promissory note for twenty-five million U.S. dollars from which I.C.C. and B.T. had derived absolutely no benefit whatsoever.
Six; however I.C.C. and B.T. have maintained a close working relationship with R.B.T.T. on these matters in an effort to resolve them in a mutually satisfactory manner. R.B.T.T. has not informed I.C.C. and B.T. of any default. It is most unlikely–and indeed it would be improper–for R.B.T.T. to tell the G.O.B. that there was a default in a loan by one of its customers, especially when the customer knows nothing about it. This suggests mischief is afoot by persons unknown–probably the very unnamed sources of the Channel 7 and Channel 5 stories.”
News Five’s efforts to reach R.B.T.T. for confirmation on the status of the loan have been unsuccessful. What we can say with some certainty is that Prosser has not paid the loan, the original default date has passed, and the bank, which holds thirty percent of B.T.L. as collateral, controls the fate of Jeffrey Prosser’s Belizean assets.
