(Trinidad Guardian) The T&T Police Service has initiated a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud and misconduct levelled against Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald.
McDonald, the former minister of housing and urban development, was removed as a Cabinet minister on Thursday.
She was replaced by former public administration minister and San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell.
In an interview yesterday, following the second of three panel discussions at a symposium on the state of the economy, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said an investigation had begun.
The symposium was held at the Learning Resource Centre of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus. Asked to provide the areas to be looked at during the investigation, Williams did not answer. He also did not say who had been charged with overseeing the investigation. Williams said his “open day for media” was Wednesdays and so he would not provide further information until then.
Early this month, Fixin T&T spokesman and anti-corruption activist Kirk Waithe wrote to Williams requesting that a criminal investigation be launched into the setting up and operations of the Calabar Foundation. The Calabar Foundation was run by Carew and received payments from the Ministry of Community Development in 2010. The cheques were paid to the foundation before it registered a name.
The story about the Calabar Foundation first broke in the Sunday Guardian in December 2014, written by investigative reporter Renuka Singh. Waithe requested that the police investigate to determine whether any fraud or misrepresentation was perpetrated and whether there was any misbehaviour in public office by McDonald.
Waithe also revealed that McDonald had breached parliamentary rules and hired relatives to work in her constituency office.
In a telephone interview yesterday, attorney Lyndon Leu said in addition to breaches to the Integrity in Public Life Act, police investigators could also investigate for possible fraud due to the monies allegedly approved by McDonald for payment to the Calabar Foundation.
“It all depends on where the funds ended up. Where the funds end up will determine if it is a criminal charge or not. The police have to investigate where it ended up,” Leu said.
“They may have issues for her in terms of approving any funds, and she may or may not be culpable as a secondary party.” Leu said even if the foundation wasn’t incorporated, if the funds were used for the purpose for which the foundation was founded police may not be able to lay charges.
“If it ended up in his (Carew’s) personal account and then it disappeared it may be fraud.” Late last year, Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge forwarded a dossier on alleged breaches of the Integrity in Public Life Act to both the Integrity Commission and the acting Commissioner of Police. The breaches stemmed from the allocation of a Fidelis Heights house to McDonald’s romantic partner Michael Carew in 2008.
In January, HDC allocations manager Lauren Legall forwarded a complaint to the Commissioner of Police regarding what she called “unusual enquiries” from McDonald. Legall claimed that sometime in November, McDonald made enquiries as to the status of the deed for Mr Michael Carew. She claimed McDonald had informed her that Carew had paid in full for a unit at the Fidelis Heights Housing Development since 2008 and had not received the deed for the property.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, during a post-Cabinet press conference in Tobago, had initially stated that he would not fire McDonald McDonald did not answer calls to her mobile phone or respond to a text message from this reporter yesterday.
