The Passing of Gilbert Bigio: Wealth, Power and a Complicated…
The Passing of Gilbert Bigio: Wealth, Power and a Complicated Caribbean Legacy
Researcher ✔️
Michael Elijah Muhammad Clare
October 1, 2027
Haitian businessman Gilbert Bigio, one of Haiti’s wealthiest and most influential business figures, has died at the age of 91.
His death closes a remarkable chapter in Haiti’s economic history. Bigio built a massive industrial empire that became deeply connected to Haiti’s economy, while his wealth, political connections and use of offshore financial structures also attracted international scrutiny.
BUILDING AN INDUSTRIAL EMPIRE
Bigio’s business empire began in 1972 with Aciérie d’Haïti, Haiti’s first steel mill.
Over the following decades, the business expanded into a much larger conglomerate known as the GB Group, later rebranded as BGO.
The group developed businesses across several major sectors, including agriculture, energy, logistics and construction. At its height, the company employed thousands of people and became involved in major infrastructure projects, including the private Port Lafito container terminal in Haiti.
The Bigio family became one of the most powerful business families in Haiti while generally maintaining a low public profile.
Bigio also developed business interests outside Haiti, including in the Dominican Republic, the United States and The Bahamas.
THE BAHAMAS CONNECTION
One of the important Caribbean connections revealed in the Pandora Papers is The Bahamas.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that at least a dozen companies connected to Bigio were created in The Bahamas.
One company specifically connected to the Lafito business empire was Lafito Logistics Holding Ltd.
The company was registered in The Bahamas and was connected to the Bigio family’s business operations involving Haiti.
Seaboard Corporation also listed Lafito Logistics Holding Ltd. as a Bahamas and Haiti entity in its 2017 corporate filings.
Lafito Logistics Holding Ltd. also appears in Bahamian government tax-registration records with a Nassau address.
This shows that the Lafito business empire had a corporate presence in The Bahamas in addition to its operations in Haiti.
THE POLITICAL TIMING IN THE BAHAMAS
The political timing surrounding the company’s Bahamas presence is significant.
From May 2012 until May 2017, The Bahamas was governed by the Progressive Liberal Party under Prime Minister Perry Christie.
In May 2017, the Free National Movement, led by Hubert Minnis, won the general election and formed the new government.
Lafito Logistics Holding Ltd. was already identified as a Bahamas entity in corporate records from 2017.
The original Bahamas incorporation documents would establish the exact date on which the company was registered and therefore which political administration was in office when the application was made.
THE BAHAMIAN LAW FIRM
The Pandora Papers identified several international lawyers and corporate-service providers who worked with Bigio and his family.
However, the offshore records also raise questions about the Bahamian professionals involved in establishing and maintaining the companies registered in The Bahamas.
The original corporate documents for Lafito Logistics Holding Ltd. would identify the Bahamian law firm or corporate-services provider responsible for the company’s registration and administration.
That information is particularly important because the Bahamas was one of several jurisdictions used within the wider corporate network connected to the Bigio family.
THE PANDORA PAPERS
In 2021, the Pandora Papers investigation opened a much larger window into the offshore financial world surrounding Bigio and his family.
The Pandora Papers consisted of more than 11.9 million confidential records obtained from 14 offshore service providers. The investigation involved hundreds of journalists around the world.
The records showed that Bigio was connected to numerous offshore companies and trusts.
ICIJ reported that Bigio was connected to at least a dozen offshore companies, many of which were created in The Bahamas.
The records also showed two trusts connected to the Bigio family.
One of those trusts, the Deep Blue Trust, had a reported $31 million stake in Haitian companies and owned a home in Bal Harbour, Florida, valued at approximately $3 million.
The Pandora Papers also identified Lockver Investment Inc., which was established in the British Virgin Islands in 2001.
Another company, LRY Investments Limited, was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in February 2011. The ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database identifies Gilbert Bigio as the ultimate beneficial owner of LRY Investments Limited.
The Pandora Papers showed that Bigio and his family used multiple offshore structures involving jurisdictions including the British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and Panama.
OFFSHORE COMPANIES ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY ILLEGAL
Having an offshore company or trust is not, by itself, proof of a crime.
Businesses and wealthy individuals can legally use offshore companies for investments, estate planning, asset protection and other legitimate purposes.
The Pandora Papers, however, raised broader questions about financial secrecy and the difficulty governments can face when trying to determine where wealth is held and whether taxes are properly paid.
For Haiti, those questions were especially significant because the country has struggled for decades with poverty, weak institutions and limited government revenue.
CANADA SANCTIONS BIGIO
Bigio’s financial affairs came under even greater international scrutiny in 2022.
In December 2022, the Canadian government sanctioned Bigio along with several other Haitian business and political figures.
Canada said it had reason to believe that the targeted individuals were using their positions and resources to protect or enable illegal activities by armed gangs, including money laundering and corruption.
The allegations were made by the Canadian government and should be distinguished from a criminal conviction.
Bigio and his representatives disputed allegations concerning gang involvement.
THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN CONNECTION
Bigio also made headlines after purchasing a luxury Mercedes-Maybach previously owned by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The vehicle was reportedly purchased for approximately $132,000 at a sale of Epstein’s assets.
The proceeds from the sale were intended to help compensate Epstein’s victims and cover estate expenses.
A LEGACY OF WEALTH AND CONTROVERSY
Bigio retired as CEO of the GB Group in 2018, but the business empire he helped build continued to have a major presence in Haiti and across the Caribbean.
His story is not simply about one wealthy businessman.
It is also a story about how Caribbean business empires can operate across multiple countries while using different corporate structures and financial jurisdictions.
Haiti was the center of Bigio’s industrial empire.
The Bahamas became one of the jurisdictions connected to his offshore and corporate network.
The Pandora Papers brought some of those structures into public view.
The documents do not establish that every company or trust associated with Bigio was illegal. They do, however, provide a detailed picture of the complicated international corporate structures surrounding one of Haiti’s most powerful business families.
The Bahamas connection raises an important question about how Bigio’s companies entered the jurisdiction, who represented them and which government was in power when those applications were made.
The answers are contained in the original Bahamian corporate records.
Gilbert Bigio leaves behind a vast business legacy, but also a financial and corporate record that extends far beyond Haiti.
His story reaches into the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Switzerland, the United States, The Bahamas and other parts of the Caribbean.
The full story of that network may be much larger than what has already been revealed.
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