No-confidence motion against AG Petrotrin case a scandal—Roodal

No-confidence motion against AG
Petrotrin case a scandal—Roodal


Gail Alexander
Published:Guardian
Saturday, June 25, 2016

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi should have recused himself from dealing with Petrotrin’s case concerning Malcolm Jones and the World GTL project, since the AG’s uncle, Lenny Saith, was energy minister supervising the process when the project began, says Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal.

“So uncle start it and nephew finish it,” Moonilal declared in Parliament yesterday.

“The AG misconducted himself, it is the biggest political scandal and cover-up. This is ‘Jones 34.’ What they (PNM) accused the PP of, they actually did,” he said.

The accusation was one of several Moonilal levelled at Al-Rawi while piloting a motion of no-confidence against him, based on Al-Rawi’s handling of the $1.2 billion claim brought by Petrotrin—under the past administration—against Jones for breach of duty as executive chairman in the failed Gas To Liquids (GTL) project.

Al-Rawi, under the current People’s National Movement (PNM) administration this year, instructed Petrotrin to discontinue proceedings. (See page A7)

Moonilal detailed the Petrotrin-WGTL project from 2004 and its trail of issues. He noted the current energy adviser, Professor Ken Julien, had spearheaded the idea, chaired a task force on it and recommended it. Moonilal cited a rush to get the project going, concerns by Petrotrin managers—including one Anthony Chan Tack—and “bullying of Petrotrin, hesitancy by WGTL’s CEO” as some of the issues raised then. The project started at $850 million and went to $2 billion with 33 cost overruns.

Moonilal said WGTL’s CEO in 2005 said he was disturbed by Petrotrin’s desire to control finances and other matters when the basic structure of the agreement was what “...Dr Julien, the (Energy) minister and Mr Jones wanted...”

Stressing that the AG had compromised himself in the matter, Moonilal said the energy minister at the time was Dr Lenny Saith—the AG’s close relative—who’d supervised the project and consented to it.

“The AG was therefore duty bound now to recuse, remove himself from dealing with the matter. On that alone an AG would have resigned from office, after presiding over this matter in which a close relative supervised and had ministerial control of the project,” Moonilal said.

“The Attorney General operated in this matter more like the PNM’s public relations officer—not like the guardian of the public purse...he had care of a $3 billion matter (but) he bowed to dictates of the party and energy czars.”

Moonilal said the Prime Minister took a hands-off approach on the $3 billion issue, yet was “quarrelling on a public platform chasing the Parliament for $30,000.”

He also said the AG shouldn’t have been part of last October’s Cabinet decision when Jones and Julien were approved for the Energy Sub-Committee.

“Did the AG tell Government he couldn’t participate in that as he had care of a matter in which Jones was defendant? And that they oughtn’t to appoint Jones as he was before the court on a billion-dollar matter? By appointing him to the committee, you’ve prejudiced and pre-tried the matter—you say he’s innocent.”

He added, “The same 2004 players (Jones, Julien) are back, no wonder Jones said in the Guardian if he had to do it all over again he would. And we believe they’ll do it again.”

Accusing the AG of dereliction of duty, Moonilal said nothing was done on the Jones case due to a political cover-up/conspiracy to remove the case from court.

“The AG acted as the ‘closer’ in the matter, he was identified by the party and energy czars to close this matter, bring it to conclusion and remove it from court. A responsible AG would have let the court decide on a matter started by another administration...the Jones papers make the Panama papers look like a comic book—it’s about financial crime, $3 billion of taxpayers’ money disappeared. If we’d prevented WGTL, there would be no need for the recent HSF withdrawal,” he said.

www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-06-25/petro...andal%E2%80%94roodal