Marina Bay City Developer in Lombok Denies Receiving AUD 10 Million in Payments
Jamie McIntyre, the developer behind the Marina Bay City project in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has denied receiving payments from investors totalling AUD 10 million, or approximately Rp 86 billion based on the exchange rate at the time of payment. The AUD 10 million figure emerged in a report filed by 30 investors with the Bali Regional Police regarding an alleged investment fraud.
Through his legal counsel, I Komang Ari Sumartawan from Bali Legal Partnership, McIntyre disclosed that investor funds were indeed received through PT Bali Real Estate Investments (BREI) and PT Marina Bay Investments (MBI). However, the amount received was only around AUD 3 million. “If it is true that investor funds reached around AUD 10 million, while our client only received around AUD 3 million, then it is necessary to trace where the remaining funds went and who controlled their receipt,” Ari stated during a press conference in Denpasar on Friday.
According to Ari, a number of investor payments were made to overseas company accounts that were not under the control of McIntyre or BREI. Ari urged an independent audit and a thorough investigation into all transactions related to the project. He also rejected the notion that the Marina Bay City project has failed. He stated that the project is still ongoing and that various licensing processes continue to progress through coordination with the West Lombok Regency Government.
Ari claimed that the funds received by the company have been used for various project needs, including land acquisition, licensing management, legal fees, contractor payments, and infrastructure development. He added that McIntyre’s personal funds were also used to support the project’s operations. Ari further assessed that the current issues cannot be separated from an ongoing business dispute between McIntyre, Adrian James Campbell, and an entity known as Kinnara Asia. Previously, around 30 investors in the Marina Bay City project in Lombok reported an alleged property fraud to the Bali Regional Police, claiming losses of up to Rp 86 billion.