A Chinese state-run bank has succeeded in foreclosing on the troubled Baha Mar resort casino in the Bahamas, possibly spelling the end of the involvement of developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

On Friday, the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) convinced the Bahamas Supreme Court to appoint Deloitte & Touche as receivers for the unfinished $3.5b project, whose developer Baha Mar Ltd filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this summer.

EXIM, which has $2.45b invested in Baha Mar, had reportedly become concerned that the provisional liquidators appointed by the Court were failing to honor their mandate to ‘preserve and maintain’ the project’s remaining funds. EXIM are believed to have pushed for last month’s decision to lay off 2,000 resort staff while the project remained dormant.

The receivership effectively eliminates further input from Baha Mar Ltd, which has around $850m invested in the project. Izmirlian had burned no shortage of bridges over the past year as he fought with EXIM, the Bahamian government and China Construction America (CCA), the project’s primary contractor.