Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams said the Bank still intends to pursue civil proceedings on behalf of Clico, Clico Investment Bank (CIB) and British American (BA) despite a Commission of Enquiry (COE) into their collapse. It was on this basis, the Bank commissioned several reports- from Ernst & Young, KPMG and Lindquist Forensic Accounting Investigations. The Bank, citing litigation privilege, has refused to disclose those reports to the COE. It will disclose the Ernst & Young report once the Coleman-led enquiry finalises a confidentiality protocol.
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has accused the Central Bank of attempting to block the Enquiry-a suggestion Governor Williams dismissed. "I've read that, yes" he laughed. While the Enquiry must go on, so to must the Bank's work. "Civil proceedings is the only way of obtaining recovery and therefore if we compromise the civil proceedings, we compromise the chances of the country benefitting from recovering some of the funds," he told the Guardian on Tuesday. Given the length of time the reports have been in the Bank's possession, what's the keep-back in seeking legal recourse?
The Guardian was told that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan had written to the Central Bank requesting the reports to be used during the Commission of Enquiry into Clico. The Central Bank also intends for three commissioned reports to be handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine whether there should be criminal proceedings.