According to a lawsuit filed before the Supreme Court of Singapore, Jaime Ordonez and two associates caused Tayrona Pacific Star to breach the terms of the October 2019 purchase agreement for Le Freeport. They pushed back the completion date of the deal 4 times, citing, amongst other things, negative coverage of Bouvier’s business in a single case and concerns concerning the state of Le Freeport’s infrastructure in one other, the lawsuit alleges.
Before each termination date, and even after the fourth, “defendants raised alleged issues that had not previously been considered, discussed or communicated,” Bouvier’s attorneys said within the April 15 lawsuit.
Asia’s ‘Fort Knox’ in Singapore put up on the market after owner’s fight with Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev
Asia’s ‘Fort Knox’ in Singapore put up on the market after owner’s fight with Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev
“We strongly deny these false allegations,” Ordonez said in an emailed response, speaking on behalf of his business partners and their corporations. “The defendants on this case will not be even parties to any Freeport purchase agreement,” said a Colombian resident in Singapore, declining to comment further resulting from the continuing court case.
Alleged delays by potential buyers preceded the economic collapse brought on by the coronavirus, and the pandemic could make it harder for Bouvier to buy on the property. The agreed sale price of A$83.3 million (US$60 million), the lawsuit said, can be lower than the roughly A$100 million it cost to construct.
Bouvier, through a representative, declined to comment on the sale price.
Factors cited by the defendants for the failure to finish the acquisition included the “poor physical and technological condition of the freeport”, in addition to press coverage in Malta about Bouvier’s businesses, which made it difficult to secure the discharge of funds obligatory to finish the transaction, based on the lawsuit.
Ordonez, who was once involved within the film business, is a director of Tayrona Pacific Star, an organization that has allegedly agreed to purchase the Singapore plant. He can be a director of Tayrona Capital Financial Group, an investment and hotel company that owns half of Tayrona Pacific Star and is a defendant, based on the lawsuit.
The case files show that Scudo, the owner of the opposite half of Tayrona Pacific Star, and its owner Jeff Tay Toh Hin are among the many seven entities and individuals accused.
The latest figures show that within the ten or so years to 2018, the enterprise generated losses of A$18.4 million.
The case concerns Worldwide VGS BV, Le Freeport Real Estate Pte. v. Jaime Alfonso Ordonez Arturo et al., S350/2020, High Court of Singapore.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Legal battle over the “Fort Knox” deal in Singapore in Asia “Fort Knox” in Asia
