2005 REPORT ON INVESTMENT DISPUTES AND

UNCLAS KINGSTON 001257 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR (WBENT),WHA/TRD (MATTINGLEY), EB/IFD/OIA/JPROSELI, L/CID/JNICOL SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS AND FAS TREASURY FOR L LAMONICA E.O. 12958: NA TAGS: KIDE EINV ECON CASC EFIN PGOV JM OPIC SUBJECT: 2005 REPORT ON INVESTMENT DISPUTES AND EXPROPRIATION CLAIMS - JAMAICA REF: A) STATE 70014 B) 01 KINGSTON 1525 C) 02 KINGSTON 1558 D) 04 KINGSTON 1525 ¶1. Embassy Kingston is aware of one investment dispute between a U.S. citizen/entity and the GOJ. This dispute was first described in ref B, was updated in refs C and D, and was included in the 2004 Report on Investment Disputes. ¶2. Post was last contacted by Claimant via his lawyer in June 2001. Post contacted Claimant in May 2004 to ascertain the status of the investment dispute. Claimant informed Post that in September 2000, the Claimant pursued a negotiated solution with the GOJ's Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP). Claimant said he thought he had negotiated a settlement with the MOFP for USD 6.2 million. However, in late September 2000, the negotiated settlement was put before the GOJ Cabinet and rejected. As of May 2004, Claimant still hoped to settle the case. Embassy has nothing new to report regarding this dispute. ¶3. Claimant's name: Burton Josephs ¶4. Embassy Kingston is aware of one investment dispute between a U.S. citizen/entity and a Jamaican citizen/entity with purported local political connections. Post is including this case for evaluation, as the GOJ ties are unproven. ¶5. Post was contacted by Claimant in June 2004. Claimant informed Post that a telecommunications business deal with Jamaican partners had gone bad. USD 600,000 of Claimant's money in a Jamaican bank was frozen by order of a Jamaican judge, pending hearings in Jamaica. Numerous motions by the Claimant to dismiss the Jamaican partners' case were dismissed, and Claimant told Post that he believes the Jamaicans have strong connections to a prominent former senior politician that are influencing the case outcome. Claimant met with Embassy officials in April 2005 to update them on recent developments. Claimant's case is set for a final hearing in June 2005. In parallel, the dispute is also undergoing binding arbitration in Florida, where Claimant stated he expects a favorable outcome, but believes the Jamaicans will evade the provisions of the arbitration. ¶6. Claimant's name: Richard Linhart