A Chinese construction firm linked to Beijing's government has pledged two Nassau hotels as collateral while seeking to stay a $1.6 billion court ruling related to the Baha Mar resort development.

CCA Bahamas Ltd. (CCAB) offered its British Colonial Nassau Hilton Hotel and Margaritaville Beach Resort properties, valued between $232.7-355.1 million, as security during their appeal process. The pledge comes after an October ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok ordered CCA companies to repay the original developer's $845 million investment plus interest and lost revenue.

The case stems from BML Properties and Sarkis Izmirlian's allegations that CCA deliberately delayed construction to force multiple missed openings, eventually leading to BML's 2015 bankruptcy. Justice Borrok agreed with claims of "massive fraud," finding the Chinese firms had colluded to force out the Bahamas-based company.

CCA became involved in 2014 after the 2008 financial crisis scared away previous partners. Their agreement included controversial terms allowing Chinese worker imports despite local unemployment and preventing CCA's termination from the project.

Following BML's bankruptcy, China's Export-Import Bank seized control and ultimately sold the nearly complete resort to Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which opened Baha Mar in 2017 after $200 million in additional investment.

CCAB maintains they will prevail on appeal, stating BML Properties' "gross mismanagement" caused the project's failures. The pledged hotels were recently appraised by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle.

The Baha Mar project was originally conceived by Izmirlian and former Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie to boost tourism, which had declined 20% in the previous decade.

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