CLICO CRIMINALS

CLICO CRIMINALS
By Andre Bagoo Saturday, July 2 2016



SIR ANTHONY Colman has found evidence of criminal conduct on the part of Clico’s associates, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley disclosed yesterday as he called for quick action in relation to the Colman Report on the collapse of the insurance behemoth which once threatened to take crash this nation’s economy.

In a long-awaited statement on the Report in Parliament, Rowley said, “a number of adverse findings of criminal misconduct of a kleptocratic nature were found and recommendations made which would be for the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) to consider.” “Having perused the Report myself, I can advise the population that it contains very serious allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of a handful of privileged individuals who were associated with the Clico/CLF group of companies,” the Prime Minister told MPs.

“It is my hope that its findings are quickly acted upon to the satisfaction of a long suffering people who have borne the agony of what got us here and whose fervent hope is that this experience does not further contribute to the cynicism which is associated with these things and that this effort does not gather dust on some obscure shelf.” He twice sought the permission of the Speaker to extend his speaking time and eventually spoke for 20 minutes.

Rowley also said, “there was no adverse finding and/or comment, whatsoever” with respect to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, a former member of the Clico Investment Bank (CIB) board.

Al-Rawi has withdrawn himself from the handling of the Report.

The Prime Minister further undertook to study Sir Anthony’s recommendations calling for amendment of laws relating to inquiries – which stipulate a paltry $2,000 fine for non-attendance – and in relation to regulation of the insurance industry.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad- Bissessar queried whether the Attorney General would also be excused from these matters, but Rowley said there was no suggestion Al-Rawi would be involved in the first place.

Though he gave some details of the overall findings of the Report, Rowley said Government would not immediately publish the full document. He said the Cabinet, on June 23, sought legal advice from DPP Roger Gaspard SC on whether the document should be made public - whether fully or partially. The Report was received from President’s House on the afternoon of June 22.

Gaspard is on record as objecting to the proceedings of the inquiry, citing parallel action by law enforcement bodies and pre-trial publicity. Rowley said the Cabinet has asked the DPP to give the matter his urgent attention.

Said Rowley, “This country should rest comfortably in the knowledge that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, which I have the honour and responsibility to lead will do nothing to impede the flow of justice in this or any other matter and will do everything within its duty and authority to facilitate the holding to account any and all persons who may have been found to have questions to answer. Like every other citizen it is our expectation that as rights to fair treatment are protected, justice must also take its course, swiftly, under the probing of the long arm of the law.” Though awaiting the DPP’s advice, the Prime Minister summarised some of the Report’s findings.

The Report said: 1) a number of executives acted in conflict of interest positions; and 2) there was over-leveraging and unacceptable, inter-company transactions that seriously, negatively, affected Clico, CIB and British American Trinidad Limited (BAT).

Further, CL Financial or CLF (Clico’s parent company) paid high premium prices in acquiring various assets — thereby resulting in overall prices being more than originally anticipated while CLF’s auditors expressed disquiet in the course of 2008 at the rapidity with which the Group was acquiring new companies such as Green Island and Lascelles de Mercado (“LdM”).

Inter-company balances ballooned, and auditors recommended there be no further acquisitions until the Group had consolidated its new holdings and paid down the unsecured part of its indebtedness to Clico.

That recommendation, Sir Anthony said, was ignored in as much as CLF management proceeded to go ahead in what can be described as a reckless manner.

Overall, the underlying causes of the collapse of all of the companies were, “the defective business model of the CLF Group and the failure of senior management to act to change it and the methods of corporate governance in accordance with the requirements of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (“CBTT”) and the recommendations of their external auditors.” “The insurance companies were treated as the means of funding the investments made by or directed by CLF,” Rowley said. He said Sir Anthony found that if, during the period from 2004 to 2008 Clico, BAT and CLF had made any real effort to act with urgency to rebalance the Group’s business model in accordance with the requirements of CBTT and the recommendations of the external auditors, “it is probable that the collapse would have been avoided”.

Rowley said the the legal costs at the inquiry have totaled $78 million as at May. He said Minister of Finance Colm Imbert will next week tell Parliament how much money has been spent to bail out Clico. Some have estimated that figure to be about $20 billion

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