(Trinidad Guardian) It will be “unacceptable” if CL Financial is returned to Lawrence Duprey, Afra Raymond of Disclosure Today, said on Saturday.
“I don’t believe the people who caused this disaster and who are in a position of responsibility could be just handed back this company after the money is repaid and so on. “We don’t even know how much money has been lent and how it is being repaid,” he said.
“I don’t think it should be returned to them those people are not fit and proper to have ownership, directorship or hold positions as officers or controlling shareholders of a financial institution in this country. There are fit and proper guidelines and that is one of the very issues we raised with the Governor of the Central Bank Dr Alvin Hilaire.”
Duprey was chairman of CL Financial when the conglomerate went to the Central bank for assistance in 2009. Raymond, along with the (CEO of Disclosure Today Rishi Maharaj and David Walker have written to Hilaire calling for him to explain what is going on.
He said Hilaire has to account to the population on the issue of the CL Financial bailout and the way forward, The trio delivered their letter to Hilaire on Wednesday.
Hilaire was written to on January 31 but there was no response.
“We need to know what is happening. It is a colossal amount of money that has been spent on this bailout. It was administered through the Central Bank and there are more questions than answers,” Raymond said.
He said the letter to Hilaire asked how the bailout could have gone on so long without any proper accountability. The group also asked whether the Central Bank now has to “release CL financial from its control”. “If we have to release it because the law says we have to release it because targets have been achieved who do we leave it to,” Raymond said.