This my interview with Vernon O’Reilly Ramesar on ‘One on One’ on IETV Wednesday 23rd November 2016 to discuss Invaders’ Bay and the CL Financial bailout fiasco. Video courtesy ieTV.
This is my video update on the continued suppression of details on the CL Financial fiasco. Where is the Colman Report? Will the Government ever release the details of this $25 BILLION bailout? Who got paid?
Programme Date: 15 November 2016 Programme Length: 08:30
PM issues Statement on CLICO Report of Sir Anthony David Colman, QC. Courtesy news.gov.tt
“…This country should rest comfortably in the knowledge that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago…will do nothing to impede the flow of justice in this or any matter. And we 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 always take its course swiftly…”
—Extract from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s statement to Parliament on the Colman Report on Friday, 1 July 2016. The emphases are mine.
This season is always one of reflection and re-dedication for me, with the two month transition from Emancipation Day on 1 August to Independence on the 31 August, then onto Republic Day on 24 September. I always spend this spell in some sober reflection, in between the life. It seems to me that the very sequence of events and the consequent holidays in the season imbue it with an inner meaning in terms of a national transition to some kind of depth and purpose. Emancipation to Independence to Republican status…maybe that is just sentimental of me, but let us see.
If we are not vigilant, there is a real danger that the details of this entire CL Financial matter – both the failure of the group and the huge bailout – will be made to disappear in an epic legal mangle. There has never been a conviction for large-scale white collar crime in our country. The CL Financial collapse is such a serious episode that there is inescapable evidence which can ensure consequences. At the same time, the main players are so wealthy and influential that they can devise an effective way to avoid justice, unless we exercise vigilance in the public interest. Continue reading “The Colman Report”→
Afra Raymond is interviewed on the ‘The Power Breakfast‘ show on Power 102 FM by Richard Ragoobarsingh, Wendell Stephens and Rhoda Bharath on the publication of the Colman Report into the failure of CL Financial. 13 July 2016. Audio courtesy Power 102 FM
Afra Raymond is interviewed on Good Morning T&T by host, Dike Rostant on the continuing CL Financial bailout and the pending Colman Commission Report. Video courtesy CNMG
Afra Raymond is interviewed by Rennie Bishop on 107.7FM on Sunday 12, June 2016 to discuss the continuing CL Financial bailout after the intervention of Lawrence Duprey, and the Auditor General’s 2015 report.
Afra Raymond is interviewed on the ‘The Power Breakfast‘ show on Power 102 FM by Rhoda Bharath and Richard Ragoobarsingh discussing the ongoing CL Financial bailout saga. 1 June 2016. Audio courtesy Power 102 FM
On Sunday 22nd May 2016, the front-page story in this newspaper was headlined ‘We will pay it back‘. That article featured very interesting quotes from former CL Financial Executive Chairman, Lawrence Duprey as well as the Minister of Finance & the Economy, Colm Imbert, on the prospects for repayment of the huge sums of Public Money spent on this CL Financial bailout.
Duprey claimed to have made a formal proposal to the State to repay taxpayers and all stakeholders who are owed money, while insisting that the amount owed was yet to be determined. The failure or refusal of the State to publish any audited statements in relation to this CL Financial bailout appears to be impeding the discussions as to a settlement of this massive debt. The sidebar contains a summary of how the Public Money spent on this bailout has grown from the initial 2009 estimates of $5 Billion to a 2016 figure now said to exceed $24 Billion. Continue reading “CL Financial bailout – Duprey’s Story: SIFI vs PIFI”→
Last week we learned that Lawrence Duprey and his fellow CL Financial shareholders are victims of a badly-handled bailout. According to the Duprey version, the State must halt all asset disposals and he must regain control of the CL Financial group of companies. In what seemed to be an immediate response, Minister of Finance & the Economy, Colm Imbert, said he was so alarmed at the gross mismatch in the bailout figures that he decided to order a forensic audit on the entire process. These two contrasting stories are the latest big news on the CL Financial bailout.
I have always objected to the CL Financial bailout and it has become a strong example of how the Public Interest can be perverted under a series of disguises.
The Duprey Gambit is just the latest attack on good values in our country. It is a nasty, shocking outbreak of moral hazard. It needs to be dismantled and discredited, nothing less will do.
The Imbert Initiative looks like a welcome move to examine the details of this scandalous waste of Public Money. The proposed forensic audit seems to signal some official appetite for disclosure. However, if this is to properly protect the Public Interest, there are some ‘litmus tests’ which can show the official commitment to disclosure
Afra Raymond is interviewed on Sunday 14th February 2016 by Rennie B on the issues relating to the CL Financial bailout and his ongoing litigation with the Minister of Finance & the Economy to ensure publication of the details of that massive payout of $25Bn + in Public Money.
Afra Raymond is interviewed on the ‘The Power Breakfast‘ show on Power 102 FM by Richard Ragoobarsingh, Wendell Stephens and Rhoda Bharath on the publication of the Colman Report into the failure of CL Financial. 13 July 2016. Audio courtesy Power 102 FM
Afra Raymond is interviewed on Good Morning T&T by host, Dike Rostant on the continuing CL Financial bailout and the pending Colman Commission Report. Video courtesy CNMG
Afra Raymond is interviewed by Rennie Bishop on 107.7FM on Sunday 12, June 2016 to discuss the continuing CL Financial bailout after the intervention of Lawrence Duprey, and the Auditor General’s 2015 report.
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