NASSAU, The Bahamas--Billionaire Canadian clothing manufacturer Peter Nygard was fined US $50,000 by a Bahamian judge Tuesday, for violating a court order to stop environmentally damaging dredging near his beachfront home in the Bahamas.
Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Bain found Nygard in contempt of court for violating her 2013 order to stop dredging the seabed around his property on Lyford Cay, on the western edge of Nassau Island. She gave him until March 21 to pay the fine or be remanded to prison for 14 days.
The judge also ruled that Nygard must remove the sand he piled along his beach, in violation of her order, by April 7 or pay another $50,000 fine, plus $1,000 per day for every day he violates her ruling.
He also was ordered to pay court costs for Save the Bays (STB), a local environmental group which had asked the court to jail the fashion mogul for his contempt of the 2013 court ruling.
“This is an extraordinary triumph for environmental justice in the Bahamas,” said attorney Fred Smith, who argued the case on behalf of STB.
Over the years, according to Smith, Nygard has almost doubled the size of his property by digging up sand offshore and spreading it along his beachfront, harming reefs and other natural habitats.
“Mr. Nygard has been damaging the environment for years … Today, everybody should be thankful that the Supreme Court of the Bahamas has once again upheld the rule of law and held Mr. Nygard accountable,” the attorney said.
STB has brought several judicial review cases against Nygard over offshore construction works allegedly carried out in the absence of necessary permits and approvals and which have resulted in the near doubling of the size of his property. ~ Caribbean360 ~
