(Trinidad Express) Had the State suspected CL Financial would have attempted to sell off assets behind its back, then a clause holding chairman Lawrence Duprey personally liable for the billions of tax dollars that were pumped into the failed conglomerate and its subsidiaries may have been an option that could have been pursued.
So said Alison Lewis, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, during testimony on Wednesday at the commission of enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial and four of its subsidiaries at Winsure Building, Port of Spain.
Speaking in Parliament earlier this year, Finance Minister Larry Howai said the Government had so far pumped TT$19 billion into the failed conglomerate.
Howai said a highway to Point Fortin, three hospitals, eight administrative complexes, an aquatic centre, a cycling velodrome and a tennis centre could all have been built with the amount of money that has been put into the collapsed conglomerate.
To date, none of the money has been repaid, Lewis stated.
However, Lewis believes that over time, if the proper restructures are done to the viable companies in the group, then it is possible that a part of the multibillion-dollar bill could be repaid.
She said even though a memorandum of understanding was signed, CL Financial made several attempts to sell off its assets.
“In the CLF, basically, there were attempts to sell a number of the assets within the group, and they were being done without the knowledge of the minister (of Finance) or the Ministry of Finance.”
Peter Carter, counsel to the commission, said CL Financial entered into the memorandum of understanding in “bad faith” as it attempted to sell several “prized assets” in a “clandestine manner”.
Among the assets attempted to be sold were shares in Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Ltd and shares of Clico Energy.
Carter: Those with whom you were negotiating were not intending to honour whatever the terms of the agreement there were. I dare say, had you known that, you would have valued the opportunity at the time of thinking what your options were?
Lewis: Yes.
Carter: And is it possible now because of all that has happened to say categorically what you would have done?
Lewis: That is correct.
Carter: Because, inevitably, you needed, the ministry (of Finance) and the Government, needed to step in in some way?
Lewis: That is all that we were sure about.
Carter: What you have done is based in part on the representations that were made by CLF and its integrity. The government relied upon CLF to execute the terms of the memorandum?
Lewis: We did.
Carter: One of the things the memorandum did not do was impose on Lawrence Duprey any personal liability on the execution of the memorandum?
Lewis: I believe so.
Carter: And it may be that had you had reason to suspect that what happened was going to happen, it may be that that would have been one of the options you would have liked to consider?
Lewis: That would have been one of the options we would have asked our attorneys to look at. I am not one.
Lewis was led into evidence by Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson, legal representative for the Finance Ministry.
Lewis said during the discussions for the memorandum of understanding, “nationalistion” of CL Financial was not mentioned.