Warner seeks $1.9M from FCB
By JADA LOUTOO Wednesday, May 4 2016
FORMER FIFA vice president Jack Warner has signalled his intention to take legal action against First Citizens Bank (FCB) to recover over $1.9 million from cheques which the bank honoured. According to Mr Warner, the cheques bore his signature which was forged by one of his employees and accordingly the money was taken out of his account, without authority.Warner, who is himself before the courts by FCB, intends to countersue to recover the money which he said is owed to him by the bank.
In a statement yesterday, Warner alleged that in 2013, he drew to the FCB’s attention that 36 cheques drawn on his account were honoured by the bank. He said on all of the cheques his signature was forged by one of his employees. “FCB failed to detect these forgeries and honoured all of these cheques contrary to the obligations imposed on FCB by the law as well as good banking practice,†the statement said.
“A bank has no authority to pay a forged cheque or debit it to a customer’s account and, if it does so, any loss falls on the bank,†the statement said. On Monday, a debt recovery lawsuit filed by the bank against Warner and three of his companies came up for hearing for the first time in the Port-of-Spain High Court, before Justice Frank Seepersad.
In its claim, First Citizens is demanding repayment of a $1.2 million overdraft, which they say he refused to pay.
According to the claim, Warner mortgaged the Centre of Excellence, a Maritime Insurance Policy and a piece of land at Store Bay, Tobago, as security for the overdraft facility.
According to the lawsuit, Warner made use of the overdraft facility and was advanced money by the bank, which is seeking the recovery of the sum of $1,256,026.90 which includes interest on the overdraft account.
The original overdraft which he allegedly failed to pay amounted to $856,264.46. According to its debt recovery claim, the bank contends that Warner breached the terms and condition of the overdraft facility and has defaulted in the repayment of monies drawn. But in his statement yesterday, Warner said the 36 cheques drawn on his account amounted to $1,940,385, which were all honoured by the bank.
The statement noted that the forgeries were the subject of criminal proceedings and despite having met with representatives of the bank on several occasions on the issue, First Citizens allegedly “failed to deal satisfactorily†with his complaints including that they should not have honoured these invalid forged cheques.
In fact, Warner said in the statement, the bank’s expert selected only 12 of the 36 cheques which are in the possession of the Fraud Squad for examination and concluded that they were forged.
Furthermore, the bank’s expert issued a report stating that the signatures on those cheques which he examined were forgeries, the statement said. Several persons have been charged with forgery and are now before the courts.
www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,227318.html
