THE "nameless, faceless" beneficiaries of a secretive trust behind the controversial court building include high-ranking members of Bermuda's own Government, the Mid-Ocean News understands.

This paper has learned that a list of beneficial owners of the Paragon Trust Ltd, shareholders in Landmark Lisgar Construction, reads like a who's who of Cabinet ministers and their relatives.

The construction company, recently renamed LLC Bermuda Ltd., is the firm behind the unfinished $78-million court and police building at Church, Court and Victoria Streets.

The Mid-Ocean News has learned that two high-profile Cabinet ministers have received payments from Landmark as consultants on the court project, despite a clear conflict of interest.

This discovery comes after months of scrutiny from the public, the press and the Opposition.

Shadow Works & Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin told the Mid-Ocean News this week that the Opposition plans to table Parliamentary Questions regarding beneficial ownership of the Paragon Trust Ltd. when the House is next in session in February.

"I'd certainly hope that when questions are put forward that the Government feels they can respond, given the secrecy they have operated under regarding who is behind this court building," she said.

She urges the Auditor General to commence with an investigation given the expense of the court building, and the controversy surrounding its backers to date.

"The Auditor General should do an investigation on this building," she said in an interview yesterday. "From what I can see, the whole thing stinks."

Auditor General Larry Dennis yesterday refused to either confirm or deny that his office is already investigating Government ties to the Paragon Trust.

Mr. Dennis also adamantly refused to comment on reports his office was in receipt of cheques issued by construction executives involved in the project as "consultancy fees" to Cabinet Ministers.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin has been pushing for transparency in the delayed court building development for months, and recently blasted the Government for accepting a bid from a construction company part-owned by a secretive trust.

"It would be helpful if we knew who was behind the trust because if the whole thing goes belly up somebody has to be accountable," she told The Royal Gazette in a November interview.

"It's the public's money. There seems to be an attitude that Government can do this, that or the other, but the bottom line is Government is doing it on the taxpayers' behalf. Government should be able to give a valid reason to have accepted the bid from a company whose shareholders are a nameless, faceless trust."

This week, Ms Gordon-Pamplin expressed frustration that many Bermudians seem complacent about their tax dollars, not questioning the secrecy surrounding the Paragon Trust, which owns 3,900 of 10,000 shares in LLC.

"I'm frustrated that the Bermuda public doesn't seem to care, and will support one party, not questioning anything that could potentially implicate their man," she said.

"We haven't matured as a democracy as long as this sort of thing is happening."

This week, the Royal Gazette learned that the Canadian partner in the court project, Lisgar, has left the project with a cash settlement, leaving Landmark to rename itself LLC Bermuda Ltd.

The Gazette also reported that the Ministry of Works & Engineering gave $800,000 to Landmark Lisgar to provide a performance bond, which could not be bought as the assets underpinning it were located in Canada.

Works & Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess called both these claims "false", but did not provide an explanation as to the status of Lisgar, or whether its executives walked out of the court project with hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.

The Cabinet ministers in question did not respond to the Mid-Ocean News' requests for comment on these allegations.

Phone calls to Landmark's office were not returned.

When asked to comment on this story, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown responded: "This is a ridiculous plantation question and will not be answered."