Peter Nygard hosted several high-ranking Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) officials at his Nygard Cay property to celebrate the PLP election victory in 2012. Those in attendance included Minister of Housing & National Insurance, Shane Gibson; the Minister of Health, Dr. Perry Gomez; and the Director of Fertility, Dr. Wan Song.
However, the party and Nygard did have a relationship. In the class-action lawsuit, there are photos of party members at his property. Multiple former employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said high-ranking PLP politicians were frequent guests at his "pamper parties."
Nygard also boasted he "initiated and helped to write the stem cell legislation" the country passed into law under the PLP government — a claim the attorney general denied at the time. Nygard has long been known to have an interest in stem cell research for anti-aging purposes.
He also donated at least $5 million to the PLP in advance of the 2012 election. There are no caps on political donations in the Bahamas.
In addition, documents obtained by local newspaper The Tribune, indicate Nygard sent thousands of dollars per month to a bank account connected to former PLP cabinet minister Shane Gibson. One former employee of Nygard Cay, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Gibson was a common guest at "pamper parties."
Gibson later admitted accepting the funds — which totalled $94,000 from August 2011 to January 2013 — saying they were campaign contributions. Read more >>