The Ministry of Finance has been asked by dissident members of the Old Colony Club to appoint an inspector to investigate the controversial sale of the Hamilton club?s building to the Argus Group of Companies.

The Royal Gazette has learned that a group of long standing OCC members has asked the Minister Paula Cox, to appoint the inspector to investigate the circumstances surrounding the proposed $10 million sale, and if necessary, to take steps that are appropriate to stop the sale.

News of the latest move comes just days before a special general meeting of the OCC tomorrow, when members are to be given an update on the sale of the property and will also be asked to give Argus permission to excavate a section of the property on the southern boundary even though the sale of the Club has not been completed.

The OCC membership agreed by a majority vote to sell the Club to Argus for $10 million earlier this year, but the sale has always hinged on Argus receiving permission from the Department of Planning to develop the property and permission from the Ministry of Finance to proceed with the sale.

One OCC member told The Royal Gazette that they believe Argus has received permission to develop the property and is now pressuring the Club to give them permission to excavate the land even though the Ministry of Finance has not yet approved the sale.

He said: ?The Argus letter of proposal clearly states that the proposal to purchase is on the condition that they receive approval from the Department of Planning and the Minister of Finance. If these were not sanctioned there would be no deal.

?It appears that Planning permission has been received because D&J Construction want to begin excavating the area immediately, but the other half of the condition has not been approved so at this point it is not a done deal.?

He warned that members who vote to support the Argus request for excavation could face financial consequences.

?If the Club says yes to the request to excavate, then those who voted to approve the excavation would be financially liable to those who objected to the approval. This is one of the major issues,? he said.

OCC Club President, Raymond Madeiros, said he was aware that Ministry of Finance had been asked to investigate the sale, but said he was not concerned that the sale of the club may be in jeopardy.

?I am in a neutral position. I have no concerns about it going through and I don?t have any concerns if it doesn?t go through because I am only acting as the chairman of the transaction.

?My personal feelings have been well known within the Club and have been documented before. But there are actually three groups involved. One can be described as pro-sellers at any price, the second group as pro-sellers at a higher price and the third group are people who are not inclined to see the club sold at all. I fall into the last bracket, but as the chairman of the Club I have to take a stand and I have to represent the majority and not just my own feelings.?

In the letter to the Minister of Finance, the law firm of Marshall Diel & Myers, acting on behalf of the objectors, said their clients were ?not adverse to a sale provided the process of selling the asset is fair and transparent and the price is in accordance with the fair market value?.

The letter continues: ?Our clients are aggrieved that these conditions have not been met and the Club?s property is at risk of being sold to the Argus Group of Companies based on a voting process which was not fair and transparent, resulting in members exercising their vote without having been given full disclosure of pertinent information; and a price of $10 million net which price bears no relationship to the fair market value of $15 million and which price was accepted without the Club?s property having been adequately or at all marketed for sale.

?Our clients consider the circumstances of the proposed sale to Argus to be highly unusual, and respectfully urge you to exercise your powers under Section 110 of the Companies Act 1981 and appoint an inspector to investigate the circumstances surrounding the proposed sale and thereafter, depending on the findings of the report, take such steps that are appropriate to stop the sale.?

The sale of the OCC to Argus has been embroiled in controversy for several months with some members alleging that the sale was riddled with procedural errors. There were also claims that many of the older and ?more vulnerable? members of the Club were given ?false information? when asked to sign their proxy votes and that pressure was applied for their signatures.

In one instance, the objectors claim that an attempt was made to obtain a proxy from a patient who did not have the capacity to understand the subject matter.

In a letter dated August 30, the law firm of Cox Hallett Wilkinson, on behalf of the OCC Management, said the OCC had followed proper procedures when negotiating the sale of the Club.

?The Committee of Management are satisfied that proper notice of the meeting of the members of the Club held on 20 July 2006, was given. This included posting the notice on the notice board at the Club and advertising such notice in TheRoyal Gazette.

?The Committee are also not in a position to look behind any of the proxies that were voted at the meeting.?

The letter continued that the OCC Management Committee was satisfied that members knew that the sale of the Club premises would lead to the demise of the Club in due course.

E-mailed questions sent to Government Financial Secretary Donald Scott were not replied to by press time and The Royal Gazette was unable to reach Argus CFO David Pugh for comment.

The OCC special general Meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow at 5.30 p.m. at the club.