Attorney General Basil Williams SC has filed a defence in the multi-million dollar libel suit brought against him by his predecessor, attorney Anil Nandlall, saying that his comments made about the latter’s acquisition of Commonwealth Law Reports were based on facts and that he had a duty to make the information known to the public.
Last month, Nandlall filed an action in the court seeking damages in excess of $125M with interest for libel and slander based on Williams’ statements.
In his defence, which was filed by attorney Michael Somersall and released by the Attorney General’s Chambers on Thursday, Williams rejected the claims being made in their totality and argued that they should be dismissed with costs.
He said that Nandlall’s acquisition of the reports for his personal use had engaged the attention of the general public as well as the authorities empowered to recover state assets with a view to instituting charges for the larceny of public property. (Nandlall has since been charged with fraudulent conversion of ministry property.)
He noted that it was at a public meeting in Berbice on March 26th, 2017, when he was asked whether Nandlall was in possession of the law books and would be charged. Williams said that he responded by saying that Nandlall could be prosecuted for larceny of the assets. “The comments were based on the fact that the Claimant did not follow the Financial Expenditure Procurement process and the Stores Laws and Regulations and as a result could be subject to prosecution,” Williams said in his defence, before adding that the comments made were not orchestrated to be an attack on Nandlall personally, but were made within the scope of his office and responsibilities as the Minister of the Ministry of Legal Affairs with responsibility to protect state assets.
He said that he was duty-bound to undertake a reasonable investigation into the location of unaccounted assets.
According to Williams, the assets that are missing were bought and paid for with public funds and as a result, it would be in the public interest to inquire as to their whereabouts and subsequent return. “The comments were not made maliciously but were based on facts on which the Defendant relies in his Defence,” he pointed out.
Williams stated that he was acting in his official capacity as Attorney General and the custodian of state assets and therefore it was his duty to protect the assets in any form and manner.
He said too that given his portfolio, he is responsible for the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, the State Assets Recovery Act 2017 and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), which comes under AML/CFT.
As a consequence, he said he, as Attorney General, may have knowledge of financial crimes and efforts to recover state assets. He said that words uttered by him are true in substance and in fact and consist of expressions of opinion and are fair.
Williams, in his defence, also pointed out that there was a set procedure to be followed governed by Stores Regulations 1993 and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 2003 (FMAA) as it related to the purchase of assets for use by the ministry and in this regard Nandlall did not obtain the books in accordance with legal procedure.
He said that he therefore had reason to believe that Nandlall had no intention of returning the state’s assets.
“As a member of Government and Chair of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Defendant was under a duty to communicate such information, as state assets are required to be managed in a specified manner and according to legislation,” he said, before adding that as a public official he had a duty to make the information known to the public and accordingly made the statements to the media in good faith.
Nandlall is seeking in excess of $25M from Williams for slander published on March 24th, 2017, at a press conference hosted at the National Communication Network Inc.; damages in excess of $25M from Williams for libel published on the same day and through the same medium; damages in excess of $25M from Williams for slander published during an outreach programme in Berbice, on March 26th, 2017; damages in excess of $25M for libel published in the Guyana Times Newspaper on March 25th, 2017; and damages in excess of $25M for libel published by Demerara Waves on the March 27th, 2017.
Nandlall is also asking the court for exemplary/aggravated damages; interest on all damages awarded pursuant to Section 12 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act; and an injunction restraining Williams, his servants and/or agents from publishing, or caused to be published or saying or caused to be said or repeating of and concerning him and the offending statements in relation to the law reports.
Williams also said that the claims made in Nandlall’s lawsuit stem from one subject matter and dividing them into eight separate claims is an abuse of the judicial process.
Nandlall was charged last week with fraudulently converting over $2 million in law reports that were the property of the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
The charge against Nandlall, who was earlier arrested by SOCU, alleged that between May 8, 2015 and May 29, 2015, at Georgetown, being a bailee and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, having 14 law reports, valued at $2,313,853 and property of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, he fraudulently took or converted the reports to his own use and benefit.
Nandlall has maintained that the reports were purchased for him based on an oral arrangement that he had with the then president Donald Ramotar as a condition for his taking up the post.
Nandlall was released on his own recognisance.
