The Central Bank Confirms the NIF Was Never Truly Operating

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Uncertainty surrounding the National Investment Fund is once again taking centre stage.

The Central Bank governor confirming there is currently no active board governing the fund, despite a legal requirement for one.

The revelation coming from Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard, who has been demanding answers about the fund for some time.

And with Parliament set to return from summer recess this Wednesday, the FNM says the new information confirms what it has believed all along.

Our Joshua Williams tells us more.

It’s a shocking twist in the ongoing story surrounding the National Investment Fund.

Central Bank Governor John Rolle confirming there is currently no active board governing the NIF.

Rolle’s confirmation was shared by Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard in a Facebook post.

Pintard says the response came in correspondence from Rolle, following an August 17 letter in which he raised a series of questions about whether the Central Bank was fulfilling its obligations under the NIF Act of 2022.

Under the law, the National Investment Fund is intended to help finance national infrastructure and public improvement projects, support development in the blue, green, and orange economies, and manage certain national assets and resources for the benefit of Bahamians.

The law also provides for a board to govern the fund.

In a statement, the FNM says the Central Bank’s response confirms concerns the party has raised about the fund, including whether it is actually operating and whether a legally valid NIF account exists.

But these questions didn’t start with this latest correspondence.

Pintard has been raising concerns about the management and operation of the fund for some time now.

And this latest response from the Central Bank appears to add a new dimension to those questions.

Michael Pintard – Leader, Free National Movement
“He stated that the government excess, his words, borrowing total $700 million was transferred to the National Investment Fund. We could locate no authorization for any borrowing up to $700 million. Once again, we could not find the legal parliamentary appropriation to move $700 million to the fund.”

Rolle also stated that while he was appointed as the Central Bank’s representative on the board, the board never met.

Under the National Investment Fund Act, the board can only open a bank account with a recognized financial institution recommended by the Central Bank and approved by the board.

If the Central Bank has had no interaction with the NIF and if the board has never convened, then there can be no legally established NIF account under the act.

Despite all of this, the fund’s balance dropped from $265.3 million at the end of December 2025 to just $200,000 by the end of March.

The explanation from the government? The money was used to help finance airport upgrades in the Family Islands.

And while the FNM has raised its own questions surrounding the fund, it’s worth remembering that it was the Minnis-led government that introduced the National Investment Fund back in 2019.

At the time, the government touted the fund as a way to usher in a “new chapter” in Bahamian financial services, attracting new opportunities to the jurisdiction and improving the ease of doing business.

Fast forward to 2026, and that very same fund is now facing serious questions.

The nation will be looking for clarity when Parliament meets on Wednesday.

Michael Pintard – Leader, Free National Movement
“So the prime minister and the minister of finance, they have to come clean in an election year where most of this transaction has been going on. They have to come clean in terms of what did they do.”