Zane De Silva has responded to reports about his role in a $200K loan to Savvy CEO
PLP MP Zane De Silva was sworn in to the Cabinet last month by Governor Andrew Murdoch. File photo.
Zane De Silva, newly-appointed Minister of Housing and Municipalities, believes there is an effort to undermine his candidacy to be the PLP’s Deputy Leader.
This comes after his role in a private $200-thousand-dollar loan made to Savvy Entertainment was highlighted in a Royal Gazette article on Sunday.
The Royal Gazette previously reported that Savvy Entertainment, under CEO Anthony Blakey, received an $800-thousand-dollar loan from Government in 2018, for a proposed music studio and watersports contest.
The loan has not been repaid, and Mr Blakey remains in the US.
The RG has published a number of stories regarding a private loan made by PLP MP Zane De Silva to a third party, that was then transferred to Anthony Blakey.
Today, Zane De Silva responded to the story, stating “Let me be clear, I loaned Kevin Smith $200,000 to invest with Mr. Blakey.”
“Mr. Blakey reneged on that loan and Kevin was unable to pay me back. We pursued Blakey and he sent me $100,000. However, once the police investigation demonstrated that the $100,000 paid to me came from the $800,000 he swindled from the Bermuda Government, I returned it as anyone would.”
“Kevin Smith and I continued to pursue Blakey for the remainder of the debt. Happily, we managed to secure a further $60,000 in repayments before he disappeared, a matter I brought to the attention of the police officers investigating the matter.”
“He still owes Kevin Smith $140,000. I will continue to do all I can to assist him to get that money back.”
Mr De Silva was charged in 2022 with money laundering. He paid the $100-thousand back to Government from the funds Mr Blakey sent to him, and the Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently dropped the case.
A police document cited by the Royal Gazette states that Zane De Silva transfered $200-thousand dollars to a third party to invest with Anthony Blakey on January 8th, 2018.
Mr DeSilva was a Cabinet Minister at that time.
Today, Mr De Silva named the third party as Kevin Smith.
The RG reports that the third party sent $150-thousand to Savvy Entertainment the day after Mr De Silva made the transfer.
Mr De Silva is calling on the Governor and the Commissioner of Police to launch an investigation into how confidential information has been leaked.
The Ministerial Code of Conduct states “Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between their duties and their private interests”.
We have reached out to both Mr De Silva and Premier David Burt to request on-camera comment. We were told the Premier is not available as he is off-island.
UPDATE: Police Commissioner Darrin Simons says the leak of confidential information about the Savvy matter is of “grave concern”. Read the story HERE.
