LUXURY HOTEL PROPERTY chain Harlequin scaled back its operations in Barbados from Tuesday by laying off nearly 30 people, but has denied facing legal action in Britain.
Stating yesterday that there was a British media campaign against the firm as a result of its lawsuit against former director Padraig O’Halloran for the misappropriation of US$13.5 million (BDS$27 million), a Harlequin spokesman said: “We’ve been made aware that a solicitor in England spoke to the Press claiming that he intends to make an application to a British court for an order to freeze the assets of Harlequin.
To date no papers have been served to support this claim.”
The spokesman, from Harlequin chairman David Ames’ office in London, added that any such application would be “misconceived and would fail”, since an independent forensic accounting audit had been done on the firm months ago.
“That process has now been completed and . . . all investor moneys received by Harlequin can be accounted for. It has also been verified that after the commission taken by Harlequin Property, as shown in its British accounts, all further moneys have been designated for the construction, development, land acquisition and operation of current Harlequin Hotels & Resorts projects,” the spokesman told the DAILY NATION.
