(Trinidad Express) Top CLICO executives, Karen-Ann Gardier and Ian Garcia, siphoned millions of dollars from the insurance company and transferred the funds to their private companies, Neal Bisnath, the legal representative for CLICO, said yesterday.
The funds were then used to open US million-dollar Executive Flexible Premium Annuities (EFPAs) at CLICO, Bisnath said.
Gardier was CLICO’s former financial controller and Garcia held the position of chief marketing officer at the insurance company.
Sylvia Baldini-Duprey, deputy chairman of CL Financial and wife of Lawrence Duprey, was the director of a company that was paid over TT$2 million monthly from the conglomerate.
Bisnath yesterday spoke of several instances of financial impropriety at CL Financial and its subsidiaries during his cross-examination of Gita Sakal, former corporate secretary of CL Financial.
“I am just trying to show the structure so your name alone is not out there,” Bisnath said.
“And I thank you for that,” Sakal said.
“Of course we have heard of your companies Corporate Consultants and Discreet Logic, and maybe let’s have some company to that,” Bisnath said.
Bisnath yesterday outlined an exorbitant scheme undertaken by Gardier and Garcia to siphon millions of dollars from policyholder funds at CLICO.
Bisnath said Gardier had a private company called GiGi enterprises and Garcia had a private company called Events Unlimited.
“I would like to trace with you a payment to companies where the beneficiaries were ultimately senior executives of CLICO, they are various of these but I just want to use one example,” Bisnath said.
CLICO made a US$3 million bank draft payable to Events Unlimited, Bisnath said.
The payment was authorised by Gardier and Garcia.
The US$3 million was wire transferred to a United States account of Events Unlimited.
Gigi Enterprises and Events Unlimited were then returned US$1 million each and opened US dollar EFPAs at CLICO with the funds.
Baldini-Duprey was the director of a company named IBIS that was paid over £200,000 from CL Financial for financial analysis of the conglomerate.
IBIS was also paid TT$60 million for three projects, Bisnath said.
“A lot of money was spent on IBIS but they never completed their terms of reference,” Sakal said.
Bisnath said Sakal received a lot of flak for her US$5 million payment from CL Financial but she was not the only person to receive that type of compensation.
Sakal said the severance package of Anthony Fifi, former chief executive officer of Home Construction Ltd (HCL), would make “TT$30 million seem like petty cash”.
