Amandala is in possession of a settlement proposal filed on November 16, 2004, with the Supreme Court of Delaware, U.S.A., which indicates that Innovative Communication Corporation (ICC), owned by Jeffrey Prosser, an American citizen, is committing roughly US$24 million (or BZ$48 million) of BTL?s money in favor of the US$85 million settlement to ex-shareholders of Emerging Communication of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As we had previously reported, ICC was sued in the Delaware?s Chancery Court, in a suit that claimed that Prosser and his affiliates had duped shareholders by buying off their shares at less than a third their value?at roughly US$10 each. Earlier this year, the court had issued a decision in favor of the minority shareholders, and it was estimated that the award to the shareholders could exceed US$100 million.

In a press release dated June 21, 2004, ICC had called the action ?totally meritless.? However, it has, according to the Delaware Supreme Court filing, agreed to the US$85 million settlement in the case.

A prior ICC release of June 1 had said ?ICC?s April 2004 acquisition of Belize Telecommunications Ltd. (BTL) is ?totally and completely unaffected by the Court?s decision in this six-year-old case.??

What is interesting is that ICC commits the proceeds of two lease-secured notes with BTL to the claimants. One is for US$12 million and the other is for US$12.5 million. The notes are for two years.

?As security for said payments,? the proposed agreement said, ?ICC LLC will assign the rights it has under a certain lease agreement with Belize Telecommunications Ltd. (?BTL?), pursuant to which assignment BTL will pay directly to the holder(s) of the Secured Appraisal Note [US] $500,000 per month for 24 months??

How BTL will pay BZ$24 million a year?in scarce US dollars?to the ex-shareholders of Emerging Communication is now the question. BTL?s profits for 2003/2004 amounted to BZ$18 million, down from BZ$21 million in the previous year.