Despite not being listed as a director or president of Top Notch Builders since 2017, Jonathan Eric Gardiner, the man at the center of a drug conspiracy that has rocked The Bahamas, withdrew $20,000 in cash from the Bank of The Bahamas account of Top Notch Builders the day before the election, court documents reveal.
The revelation only fuels US prosecutors’ argument that Gardiner is still affiliated with the construction company that has enjoyed millions of dollars in government contracts since 2017. According to filings at the Registrar General’s Office, Sampson Hield has been listed as the beneficial owner of Top Notch since 2016. Minister of Finance Michael Halkitis served as president of Top Notch between 2019 and 2021, when he was outside of government. Gardiner was not listed as a director during that time or since.
Gardiner is accused of conspiring to import five kilograms of cocaine or more into the US, firearms possession in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and conspiring to possess firearms in connection with the alleged drug scheme. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was, yesterday, denied bail.
He was arrested by US authorities after the plane he was on with 10 others crashed in waters off Florida on May 12, election day in The Bahamas. He was found with $30,000 in cash, which a DEA agent said was consistent with the way drug dealers handle their money.
But, in a motion filed on Wednesday night, Gardiner’s lawyer argued that some of the money was “campaign related”.
Many of the passengers on the plane with Gardiner were dressed in Progressive Liberal Party shirts and headed from Abaco to Grand Bahama to vote.
After his arrest, a criminal complaint was filed against Gardiner.
“The complaint alleges that Mr. Gardiner possessed approximately $30,000 in Bahamian currency and that the funds were located in a bag containing an envelope bearing the handwritten name of a Bahamian political figure identified as Politician-1,” his lawyer Susy Ribero-Ayala wrote.
“[DEA] Agent Coleman further stated that, based upon his training and experience, the currency was packaged in a manner consistent with narcotics proceeds. The complaint, however, omits significant contextual facts. The defense expects the evidence to establish that only approximately $5,000 of the recovered currency was associated with the envelope bearing the politician’s name.
“Approximately $20,000 of the recovered currency had been withdrawn from Mr. Gardiner’s business bank account on May 11, 2026, one day before the flight. Bank records documenting that withdrawal are attached as Exhibit B.
“A photograph attached as Exhibit A reflects that those funds remained bundled and packaged by the banking institution. The remaining funds consisted of campaign-related cash being transported on the day of a national election.
“The court should further consider that May 12, 2026 was the date of the Bahamian general election.
“The defense further submits that The Bahamas does not maintain a comprehensive campaign-finance regulatory structure comparable to that found in the United States. Election-law authorities and election-monitoring organizations have noted the absence of statutory regulation governing political-electoral financing and campaign funding disclosures.
“Consequently, the existence of Bahamian currency associated with political activity on election day is susceptible to explanations wholly unrelated to narcotics trafficking.”
