Maiden




	The boat Maiden II was purchased, in 2001, by Maiden II International Ltd. The only share in Maiden II International Ltd was owned by a party living offshore (as required by law for an offshore company). I lent Maiden II International Ltd over £240, 000 (at the same time as Andrew Pindar) to complete the boat purchase. In September 2004, when I approached a bank to borrow $5 million to pay the then five boats entered, to get to the start line, we agreed that, as QNOC was going to guarantee the loan, I should also borrow enough money ($6.5 million) not only to cover the interest and solicitors fees, but also to pay all Maiden II suppliers and crew, Maiden II International Ltd and my own personal debts incurred by financing all the projects, thus facilitating the participation of Maiden II in the event.This would also then leave Maiden II (over which at that time Ansbacher and I had charges) and my house (Andrew Pindar had a charge over) unencumbered so that a first charge could be taken on all my assets by QNOC. The boat was, as part of this process, in fact ‘sold’, by transferring the ownership of the share in MII Int. Ltd to me, in return for me paying off all debts with my loan which I did. In the process, I lost my charge over the boat and, when the Qatari solicitors ended up taking an obscene amount of money for working on the deal, it left Doha 2006 without the full amount needed to compete. I then completely gave up what I was owed and paid it to Brian Thompson’s team to help with the refit. QNOC has recently paid the bank, in Qatar, the $11.5million loan. The boat is nothing to do with Quest liquidation. However, if my trustees can persuade QNOC to not become a creditor of my estate and to release the charge then the boat could be sold to pay my personal creditors.


		Tracy Edwards talks about Maiden II, the HSBC sponsorship money and her forthcoming legal action In September 2004, the sale of the maxi-catamaran Maiden II was announced, but the new owner was not disclosed, creating yet more speculation about events surrounding the Oryx Quest. We asked Tracy Edwards to tell BYM News who, or what company, does own the boat?



HSBC paid £3 million + VAT sponsorship to Quest. The VAT has not been paid to HM Customs & Excise, so – given Quest’s level of debt - can you give a breakdown of what Quest spent that £3,525,000 on?

	When the Official Receiver has finished doing his report it will be easy to see what the HSBC sponsorship money was spent on, with their total agreement. All the accounts are absolutely transparent, as with any sponsorship deal. I am looking forward to the final report with enthusiasm, as it will tell the Quest creditors things that I am not allowed to because of a certain confidentiality agreement. The Official Receiver is, however, not bound by this. I think people will find the finished report most interesting.


	A Quest press release said “QISE can verify that sponsorship monies received for the Oryx Quest 2005 are not linked to Tracy's debt repayment in any way." Can you give a personal statement confirming this?

I can confirm that QISE has not repaid any of my personal debts. QISE repaid to me some of the money I put into the project but still owes me in excess of $7million. All my personal debts and Maiden II debts were paid through the sale of the boat at the end of 2004.

Maiden Global Challenges was, according to its press release “the company which manages Qatar 2006's sponsorship of Maiden 2”. This implies that there was another deal, in which Qatar 2006 was sponsoring your boat. Is this correct and was “Qatar 2006” a company?

Qatar 2006 is not a company. It was the name of the boat until it was sponsored by DAGOC (Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee) and renamed Doha 2006. In February 2005, I borrowed a further $3 million, this time direct from QNOC, to pay all Quest invoices. However, before the money was handed over to accountants to disperse the funds DAGOC took, without my permission and against an official complaint from me, $730,000 for their sponsorship of their boat. So, not only did I end up paying for the refit, I also ended up sponsoring the boat Doha 2006!!

At the time that press release was issued, you were the sole shareholder of Maiden Global Challenges, why did you transfer your share to Gavin Slater on May 8, 2004?

Gavin Slater very kindly offered to run the company as I was a tad busy putting a yacht race on, making sure people were paid, dealing with the Qataris, borrowing money to keep everyone going and biting my tongue for the good of the project whilst men like John Taylor, John Harwood Bee, Bruno Peyron and Andrew Pindar flapped their gums in the press.

You have said that you intend to sue the Qatari Government in the International Court of Justice. This will clearly incur very high legal costs. Has your Trustee in Bankruptcy authorised these?

I have no intention of suing the Qatari Government. I am suing one man for holding me illegally, in Qatar, for 28 days last year. This is a personal injury claim about which I informed the Official Receiver in November 2005. As the case is not being paid for by me and as it is a personal injury claim it is not actually part of my bankruptcy estate. I have been informed that I do not need to seek permission from my trustees. I have, however, informed them that the whole point of pursuing the case is to pay my personal creditors, Quest creditors, prize money and me in that order even though, as a bankrupt, I am not legally expected to do this.

Read Bruno Peyron’s response HERE

Read John Taylor’s response HERE

Tracy Edwards responding to questions by Marian Martin