EXPLAINER · BAHAMAS
Key Facts
- —The country The Bahamas, an English-speaking island nation off Florida whose currency is fixed one-to-one to the US dollar.
- —Why it matters A parliamentary committee is asking where B$700 million (about US$700 million) in borrowed public money linked to a state fund actually went.
- —Why now On Tuesday, 13 October, opposition leader Michael Pintard named the fund’s five board members and said the board had never met.
- —What happened The government said excess borrowing went into the state fund in the 2025/26 fiscal year, but the committee still lacks the transaction records.
- —The numbers The fund’s balance fell from B$265.3 million (about US$265.3 million) in December 2025 to B$0.2 million (about US$200,000) by the end of March 2026.
- —What it means for you The Bahamas raises money from international investors, and how it accounts for borrowed money shapes its credibility with lenders.
- —Still open Where the money went, what legal authority the Ministry of Finance used, and what the committee’s report, due by mid-November, will say.
The Bahamas National Investment Fund, a state fund created by law in 2022, is at the centre of a parliamentary spending probe. The government linked B$700 million (about US$700 million) in borrowed money to the fund, and lawmakers want to know where it went.
For US readers, it matters because the Bahamian dollar is fixed to the US dollar and the country borrows from international investors. How a government moves and records borrowed money is a basic test of the fiscal discipline that lenders watch.
What the National Investment Fund Is
Prime Minister Philip Davis, leader of the governing Progressive Liberal Party, tabled the National Investment Funds Bill on Wednesday, 26 October 2022. The Act was published in the official gazette on 30 December 2022, allowing the state to set up national investment funds.
Davis told Parliament the funds would help pay for infrastructure, food security and renewable energy by bringing in private partners. He said the bill followed the Santiago Principles, a set of 24 global standards for transparent and accountable state funds.
Under the Act, a fund may finance national infrastructure, blue, green and orange economy projects, or hold revenue from state assets. The labels mean the ocean, environmental and creative sectors, and a fund may put up to half its value towards sovereign debt.
How the Law Says the Fund Must Be Run
The Governor-General appoints a five-member Board of Governors on the advice of the Prime Minister. It must include a Central Bank representative, a lawyer with fund regulation experience and three private-sector fund specialists.
The board must meet at least once every two months, and four members form a quorum. It opens the fund’s bank account with an institution recommended by the Central Bank and approved by the board itself.
The board must report to the finance minister every quarter and commission an independent audit each year. Audited statements must be laid in Parliament and published online within six months of the end of the financial year.
Where the Borrowed Money Question Comes From
In his late-May 2026 budget speech, Finance Minister Michael Halkitis said borrowing had exceeded repayments in the fiscal year’s first nine months. He put gross borrowing at B$2.5 billion (about US$2.5 billion) and repayments at B$1.8 billion (about US$1.8 billion), The Nassau Guardian reported.
Halkitis said the excess borrowing was transferred to the National Investment Fund rather than used to finance the deficit. He later called the move lawful, citing a borrowing resolution and advice from government, bank and investment lawyers.
He said the extra money came from two refinancing deals, including a 2024 debt-for-nature swap that replaced a costlier loan and bond. The government has also cited the Public Finance Management Act and legal advice in its defence, The Tribune reports.
Government budget reports showed the fund holding B$265.3 million (about US$265.3 million) in December 2025, The Nassau Guardian reported in August. By the end of March 2026 it held B$0.2 million (about US$200,000), and the government said the money mainly funded airport works.
Halkitis has since said B$310 million (about US$310 million) meant for the fund went to public infrastructure, The Nassau Guardian reports. He has not published a breakdown of that spending.
What the Public Accounts Committee Has Found So Far
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a House of Assembly committee that examines how public money is spent. Its chairman is Michael Pintard, leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), the main opposition party.
On 13 October, Pintard named five people appointed to the fund’s board, with appointment papers dating back to August 2025. They are Sean Longley, the apparent chairman-designate, Central Bank Governor John Rolle, Dianne Bowe-Pindling, Brian Jones and Andre Rahming.
Pintard said correspondence with Rolle confirmed that the board has never met. Pintard said one letter indicated that board members did not even know of transactions carried out in the fund’s name.
The committee is also examining an account at the Central Bank that has been publicly described as the fund’s account. Pintard said the evidence suggests the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury, not the board, created and controlled it.
Pintard thanked Rolle and the Director of Legal Affairs for supplying testimony and documents promptly. He said the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury had not yet provided the transaction records needed to trace the money.
Financial Secretary Simon Wilson and the Treasurer have both appeared before the committee. Pintard stressed that the inquiry is ongoing and that the committee has made no final findings.
The PAC is separately examining B$1.56 million (about US$1.56 million) in vouchers, reportedly for building materials, issued before the May general election. Pintard said the evidence so far raises serious concerns about how that programme was managed.
What It Means for You
The Central Bank of The Bahamas holds the Bahamian dollar at a fixed B$1 to US$1, so amounts match in both currencies. Governor Rolle has said more than 80% of the country’s tourists come from the United States, which the peg makes convenient.
Halkitis said the government deliberately raised larger bond issues because they attract more investors and trade more easily. Questions over how surplus borrowing was moved and spent are the kind of governance issue that bond buyers and lenders follow.
No measure announced so far affects travel, banking or the currency for visitors and residents. Our guides The Bahamas Explained: The Islands, the Economy, the Politics and What to Watch and Investing in the Bahamas as a Foreigner: Property, Funds and the Zero-Tax Frame set out the wider picture.
For the regional context, see Bahamas and Its Neighbours in the Caribbean. Our Nassau city page covers life in the capital, where Parliament and the Central Bank sit.
What Is Not Known
It is not known where the B$700 million (about US$700 million) went, which accounts it passed through or who approved each transaction. The government has not published a full breakdown, and the committee says it still lacks the records.
It is also unclear what legal authority the Ministry of Finance relied on to act in the fund’s name without its board. Pintard said the government has not explained why the board was left off its latest list of boards and committees.
The PAC aims to finish its main work this month and publish a report by the middle of November. Its conclusions, and the government’s response to them, could change the picture set out here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bahamas National Investment Fund?
It is a state fund allowed under a 2022 law to invest in infrastructure and the blue, green and orange economies. The law requires a five-member board, quarterly reports and an annual independent audit.
How much money is involved?
The government publicly linked about B$700 million (about US$700 million) in excess borrowing to the fund. The Public Accounts Committee says it does not yet have the transaction records to account for it.
Who sits on the fund’s board?
Opposition leader Michael Pintard named Sean Longley, John Rolle, Dianne Bowe-Pindling, Brian Jones and Andre Rahming, with appointment papers from August 2025. Correspondence from the Central Bank governor confirmed the board has never met.
Has anyone been accused of wrongdoing?
No one has been charged, and the committee says it has made no final findings. The government says it acted lawfully and on legal advice.
When will the committee report?
The Public Accounts Committee aims to complete its main investigative work in October. It plans to publish its report by the middle of November.
Sources: Office of the Prime Minister (bill remarks, 2022); Official gazette (the 2022 Act); Central Bank of The Bahamas (exchange controls and the peg); The Tribune (PAC update, 14 October); thenassauguardian.com (PAC probe, 14 October); thenassauguardian.com (Halkitis defence, May); thenassauguardian.com (fund balances, August); The Tribune (opposition letters, June).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief