US court orders China Construction America to pay Sarkis Izmirlian $1.7 billion

· June 18, 2025

A New York court dismissed an appeal by China Construction America, Inc (CCA) against a Supreme Court ruling in October requiring it to pay $1.6 billion to the original owner of Bahamas casino resort Baha Mar for committing “many acts of fraud” in assuming control of the property.

According to information acquired by Inside Asian Gaming, the New York Appellate Division, First Department on Tuesday backed the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Sarkis Izmirlian’s BML Properties Ltd, which found that CCA was responsible for BML losing its entire investment by committing “multiple acts of fraud and breaches”.

The $1.6 billion figure includes BML Properties’ $845 million investment plus interest dating back to May 2014. BML said the judgment now stands at more than $1.7 billion following this latest decision.

This $1.6 billion decision against CCA saw the judge find the contractor had “committed fraud beyond any doubt” by forcing the collapse of the project in order to enrich itself and ultimately ensure Chinese interests claimed control.