Firm minister advises needs £48m. to save it
Monday 26th January 2009, 2:30PM GMT.
A COMPANY with Guernsey’s Treasury minister on its board needs a £48m. bail-out to save it from collapse.
An extraordinary general meeting is planned later today by island-based company Mapeley, which has Deputy Charles Parkinson as a non-executive director.
The offshore firm, which controversially owns the Inland Revenue’s property portfolio, will vote on whether to agree the multi-million-pound rescue package from its American parent company, Fortress.
Speaking yesterday, the minister, pictured, said: ‘We already have enough proxy votes to know that the resolution will be passed.’
And despite a business he is linked with needing an 11th-hour lifeline, the man in charge of Guernsey’s purse strings saw no need for public concern.
‘I cannot say how the public will think of it, but if they understand the circumstances and realise a suitable rescue package has been put in place, and Mapeley will survive, I see no reason they would be concerned about it.’
Deputy Parkinson added that his involvement in the troubled company, which he said had been a victim of the credit crunch, did not impact on his high-profile public role.
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More money down the drain here then?
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Why are they relying on taxpayers for bailouts then? Why can’t they approach a bank or an investment company to bail them out?
It seems rather convenient that Charles Parkinson holds the key to their answers. I would have no problems with this if it was his own money he was using. However to allow him to prop up this company with the taxpayers money is wrong and all too convenient as far as I’m concerned!
This must be stopped. What benefits are there for the taxpayers. Even more money, the best part of 50 million wasted, to help others whilst schools and other important capital projects gets pushed further down the ladder of priority.
No thanks but again the decision has already been made. Some democracy we have on this Island.
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Paul, perhaps you should have read the article properly before commenting?
They are being rescued by their parent company, Fortress, which is American.
The taxpayer in Guernsey has nothing to do with it.
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Paul
Fortunately its not the taxpayer who Mapeley is tapping up for the money.
The money is coming from its American parent.
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Admittedly I should have read the article more carefully. I jumped the gun due to the fact that the parent company is up to its eyeballs in litigation and assumed that our money was the bail out plan!
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I dont believe Politicians should be allowed to run businesses/take donations etc without unbias outside scrutiny as there can be a serious conflict of interest.
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No conflict of interest in this one, so no problem.
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Devils Advocate is right. A total non story and ridiculous of the paper to use it as a front page lead.
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Martyn
Private Eye ran the story a few weeks ago.
It is a story so far as UK readers are concerned because of the tax avoidance aspects, and a previous need to go to the UK taxpayer for additional funds.
The Guernsey interest? Seems just a space filler.
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This is not a story as it has no bearing on his role as TM in Guernsey. He rebuffed the GP on Radio Guernsey this morning and quite rightly so.
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