Reports that Commissioner of Insurance and Judicial Manager of CLICO (Guyana) Maria van Beek has decided to resign are inaccurate, a source close to her has said.
An article in yesterday’s edition of the Kaieteur News headlined ‘Maria van Beek quits’ said that close associates of van Beek had informed the newspaper that the commissioner was resigning. “Close associates of the 36-year-old van Beek revealed last night [Friday] that she has decided to resign out of concern for her safety, despite the presence of armed security at her home,” the newspaper said.
But when Stabroek News contacted the source, it was told that the report was inaccurate and that “Kaieteur News has gotten [its] wires crossed”.
van Beek is currently recuperating after being shot in her chest on April 16 while on her way to work. According to reports, she was stuck in a long line of traffic at the junction of Lombard and Leopold streets during a heavy downpour when a gunman walked up to her vehicle and fired a single shot through the driver’s side window. He jumped on a waiting motorcycle parked on Leopold Street and fled. No one has since been charged although two suspects were held for questioning and were on two ID parades.
van Beek has been Commissioner of Insurance since 2002, but was recently appointed Judicial Manager of the troubled CLICO on February 25, where she was tasked with assessing the entity’s financial position.
Two days prior to the shooting, she had presented a report to the High Court which indicated that in the worst case scenario of liquidation, the liabilities of CLICO (Guyana) will exceed its assets by $ 11.9 billion. She was asked by Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang to provide additional information on CLICO’s statutory fund. This would include information on all lines of business that CLICO (Guyana) conducts, which relate to the various categories of insurance such as accident, fire and motor.
On Friday, Justice Chang granted van Beek some more time to complete this report. Her attorney Ashton Chase SC said the Judicial Manager had been unable to comply with the request because of the shooting incident.
