Police have completed their investigation into allegations of a major theft of money from Harbour Gardens Limited and sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), The Royal Gazette has learned.

DPP Khamisi Tokunbo must now decide if the evidence is strong enough to bring about a prosecution.

Commercial Crime Unit detectives have been investigating an allegation that a large amount of money, believed to be in excess of $100,000, has been stolen from the company.

Harbour Gardens Ltd. was set up in October 1996 to convert the pool wing of the former Palm Reef Hotel in Paget into nine luxury town houses, which sold for between $570,000 and $660,000.

Leading Bermudian businessmen Fraser Butterworth and Arthur Jones are the directors of the company. Mr. Butterworth is the president and secretary of the Institute of Bermuda Architects, and Mr. Jones is the owner and director of Coldwell Banker JW Realty. A Police spokesman told The Royal Gazette last night: "Bermuda Police Service has completed its investigation of the Harbour Gardens matter and the next phase of the process has begun." People who bought homes at Harbour Gardens were given 999-year leases and became shareholders in the company.

The company has been dogged by legal disputes. A number of civil writs have been filed against it, and Harbour Gardens has also taken legal action against others.