Sandals denies properties up for auction, cites tax department error

Sandals says some of its properties in Exuma that ended up on an auction list published by the Department of Inland Revenue in The Bahamas is a mistake that will be rectified.

“We are aware of recent media reports suggesting that private properties owned by Sandals in Exuma are slated for auction,” Sandals said in a statement, adding, “we wish to state categorically that it is an error stemming from inaccurate records at The Bahamas Department of Inland Revenue”.

“We have been assured that the mistake will be rectified, and no bids for these properties will be accepted by the Department of Inland Revenue,” The Jamaica-based hotel group said.

In the statement, Sandals Resorts said it “remains fully committed to The Bahamas” and that “we continue to invest heavily in the region and look forward to building on our long-standing partnership”.

The Department of Inland Revenue has demanded that Sandals Resorts make a payment of US$30.8 million in back taxes, but Sandals has challenged that assessment.

Among the properties listed for sale in the notice published on May 12, 2025 are five properties in Exuma labelled as ‘Farmers Hill, Sandals Beach Units’. The values of the parcels range from US$1.15 million to US$2.7 million.

The Department of Inland Revenue began exercising its power of sale under the Real Property Tax last year in a bid to recover more than US$700 million in delinquent real property tax arrears. It is using the lien, or charge, it has over these properties to sell them via a public auction on June 24, 2025.

The department’s audit findings, which covered six years between 2017 and 2022, claimed the tax arrears had arisen because Sandals Emerald Bay and its operator, Clearview Management Limited, had under-reported gross revenue income for the period by more than US$284 million.

The dispute, according to documents filed with the Supreme Court, appears to result from Sandals’ corporate structure and business model. All guest bookings and payments are made to the resort chain’s corporate parent, Sandals Resorts International 2000, and its third-party booking platform and sales agent, Unique Travel Corporation. Both these entities are domiciled in Panama.

CMC