The Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) expects to sue around 30 companies or individuals it believes have ripped off the taxpayer through over-charging, Housing Minister Senator David Burch revealed yesterday.

As he introduced new BHC General Manager Vance Campbell, he also disclosed the Corporation has put 13 contractors on a stop list of people it will not use, and a further three are being monitored on a watch list.

Sen. Burch told The Royal Gazette later that as well as the 30 companies which may be sued in the civil courts, there were other more serious cases where criminal activity was suspected.

Those companies and individuals may be sued for alleged over-payments after Police have completed their investigation, he said.

Sen. Burch told a press conference there were currently 27 projects, ranging in size from Southside to individual properties, where BHC was having “challenges”. The first writ for alleged over-payment was issued last month.

“There are a number of actions that will be forthcoming. The lawyer currently has four others that we expect to go further soon and we have recommended three or four yesterday to go forward to the lawyers,” said Sen. Burch.

“It is a critical area. If the Corporation has been ripped off, we have a responsibility to try to get some redress, and we will go to the Nth degree to do that.

“We will not write-off one penny of taxpayers' money unless we have no choice and we have exhausted every avenue to get it back.”

Afterwards, Sen. Burch told The Royal Gazette he did not know the status of the Bermuda Police investigation, which has gone on for ten months and has been assisted by fraud detectives from Scotland Yard in London. He said none of the companies contacted so far over alleged over-payments had offered to pay back the cash out of court.

“I wouldn't say we've had to chase them because some don't know we are coming after them. We haven't given them notice,” he said.

“The lawyers will write to them and say ‘here is what we think we are owed and we need you to give us that before we go to court'.

“Some of the 30 are not necessarily criminal, they are more likely to be unethical, and in those cases, I would imagine they would not want to go to court.

“The ones where we think they are likely to be criminal, we are not touching them until the Police have completed their investigations because we do not want to jeopardise that, and whatever prosecutions are proceeded with.”

If a contractor was convicted of fraud, the Corporation stood a stronger chance of recouping money which had been swindled, he added.

The BHC scandal emerged in the House of Assembly in February last year when Shadow Housing Minister Michael Dunkley made allegations of corruption and massive over-payment to some contractors.

The Mid-Ocean News revealed details of $810,940 paid to contractor Paul Young over a seven month period and other big pay-outs to contractors.

In August, general manager Raymonde Dill was sacked, together with property officer Terrance Smith, whom The Royal Gazette revealed was running an architectural services business from his desk at BHC.

Sen. Burch repeated yesterday that he did not have the exact sum he believed BHC had been over-charged, although in October when he took over the post, he said the amount was “substantial”.

The list of contractors on the stop list would not be published, he added.