(Trinidad Express) Fraud Squad officers, who were called in to probe a fraud incident at the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (Impacs) last year, were instructed to pull the plug on their probe even before it could have begun.
This latest revelation comes on the heels of allegations of mismanagement of funds, hiring of unqualified staff and corruption, levelled at the regional security agency and its executive director, Lynne Anne Williams, which were unearthed by the Sunday Express and published exclusively in last week’s Sunday Express.
National security ministers from the Caricom Council of National Security and Law Enforcement (Consle) will meet via video conferencing on Friday to determine what steps should be taken in relation to corruption and misconduct allegations levelled against Impacs and Williams. In a media statement issued one day after the story was published, the agency denied the allegations.
The decision to call in the police to probe the fraud incident was made by a senior official at the agency after it was discovered that an employee had attempted to defraud the agency of TT$440,000. The female employee has since been dismissed by the agency.
However, the decision to call in the cops was later overturned by another senior Impacs official, who informed the police the matter would be dealt with internally and asked that they return all documents relating to the incident.
The names of prominent officials such as Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Caribbean Court of Justice Judge Adrian Saunders, permanent secretary in the AG’s office Simeon Yearwood and former head of Caricom Edwin Carrington were all used in the scam.
No police action
A source at the Fraud Squad told the Sunday Express last week they were never able to start the criminal probe because a senior official at Impacs informed them the agency wanted no police action on the matter.
The employee, according to documents obtained by the Sunday Express, started a trail of fraudulent documents when she offered a police officer employment as a senior manager at the agency in 2009. The officer had taken leave from the service to take up his new position at Impacs.
This fraud was not detected until 18 months later when attorney Westmin James, acting on behalf of the officer, sent a pre-action protocol letter to Impacs regarding monies owed to his client.
The fraud at the agency first began around April 2009 when the employee told the officer there was a vacancy at the agency, following which he applied for the position.
Using the agency’s office and resources, the employee drafted a contract, dated April 1, 2009, in which the officer was offered employment as manager of the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC), a sub-division of Impacs. He was offered a salary of TT$35,000 per month, including benefits.
The officer, through his attorney, told the Sunday Express the employee showed him an office which he was supposed to occupy during his tenure with the agency, but he said he never once sat in the chair. The signatures of Lynne Anne Williams, executive director of Impacs, and Capt Samuel Cumberbatch, the human resources manager, were forged on the contract, which contained the official stamp of the agency.
The officer was given several duties and assignments to perform by the employee via e-mail. Through his attorney, the officer stated he was never interviewed for any of the positions, but he saw no reason to believe he was being duped since the employee dealt with him through “official” correspondence.
Grumbling
After much grumbling about not being able to occupy his office and the fact that he had not been paid a salary since he began duties, the officer was issued a second forged contract, dated September 1, 2009. James said his client was told by the employee that the first contract contained errors and was considered null and void.
In this second contract, James said his client was elevated to the position of deputy director of Impacs. This contract was signed by the employee, who claimed she was acting as the agency’s executive director, he said. Williams’ forged signature also appeared in the document, which offered the officer an increased salary of TT$45,000 per month.
Both contracts were signed by the police officer, who never stepped a foot inside the agency’s offices nor met the staff who would have been under his command nor was he ever paid a salary for assignments and duties performed from his home, his lawyer said. He said his client met the employee in the course of professional duties. Staff at Impacs, however, said the officer was a regular visitor to the agency’s lobby, and the employee referred to him as her “boyfriend” to her colleagues.
The officer tendered his resignation to the employee on February 4, 2010 after failing to get paid since beginning “duties” with the agency. One of the excuses the officer said he received from the employee was that the agency was experiencing financial difficulties, James said.
The employee subsequently sent a copy of a letter to the officer which was purportedly sent to then secretary general of Caricom Edwin Carrington, from Impacs, requesting additional funding to deal with the payment of salaries at the agency. This letter never went to Carrington and was a forgery.
On February 18, 2010, the officer received a Republic Bank manager’s cheque from the employee in the sum of TT$30,000, which represented his first salary, days after his attorney, James, sent a pre-action protocol letter to the agency. That letter was intercepted by the employee and was never received by Lynne Anne Williams, to whom it was addressed.
The employee also furnished the officer with copies of an “agreement” entered into by legal officer at Impacs Giselle Martin before Justice Saunders at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), in which an agreement was made regarding the settlement of salaries owed to past and present employees at the agency. This agreement was false and never made by the CCJ.
Logo
According to the forged “agreement” document, which was dated April 18, 2010, Martin purportedly agreed that outstanding salaries owed to staff members would be paid on or before June 30, 2010. Signatures purporting to be that of Justice Saunders, Martin and from the Caricom Secretariat were forged on the “agreement”, which bore a purported logo of the CCJ which was printed on the reverse.
On September 22, 2010, at 1.45 p.m., the employee responded to the pre-action protocol letter to the agency, this time, claiming she was AG Ramlogan and his PS, Simeon Yearwood. The letter attempted to stop James and any other attorney from making enquiries relating to his client since it was intended that the matter would be settled.
Using the agency’s fax machine, the employee sent her forged letter to James.
The letter, which bore a false heading of “Office of the Attorney General”, stated:
“Referring to the case of your client (officer named), I am using my good office to inform you that this case is in the hands of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Trinidad and Tobago, and is closely monitored by my office and the office of the Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs.
“The case referred to with Caricom Imple-mentation Agency for Crime and Security (Impacs) vs the Caricom Secretariat is expected to be resolved by November 26, 2010. The Attorney General office was informed by the Legal Adviser of Caricom Impacs that contact was made by your offices with reference to this case.
