Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj says the decision and reasoning of the Government in conducting a commission of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of insurance giant Clico remain "questionable." Of major concern, Maharaj said, were the utterances of AG Anand Ramlogan that the circumstances surrounding the collapse should be made public.
This was despite a warning from Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, that a criminal investigation into the issue has started. Maharaj, in an interview with the T&T Guardian, said when the People's Partnership took over governance, they knew that forensic expert Bob Lindquist had examined the affairs and operations of Clico.
"The Government also knew there was a possibility of persons being charged with criminal offences based on the Lindquist report," Maharaj said. Saying it was well known that the commission of enquiry was a public affair and that evidence given was reproduced in the media, Maharaj said anyone charged with criminal offences arising out of the inquiry could apply to the courts and have the proceedings declared an abuse of process.
It was only last week that Gaspard announced that the police had started a criminal investigation into the conduct of individuals and corporate entities involved in the collapse of Clico and related companies. In a statement, Gaspard said for the media to "jeopardise, hinder or otherwise prejudice the investigation or any possible proceedings might amount to a contempt of court."
The DPP said: "I remain mindful of competing public-interest factors, including the fair-trial rights of potential defendants, the freedom of the press and the requirement of open justice." Referring to a recent interview which quoted the AG as saying it was in the public interest for all the facts in the Clico matter to be fully ventilated, Maharaj said Ramlogan would have known the previous governor of the Central Bank, Ewart Williams, had a copy of the Lindquist report.
He said it was astounding that the AG has made a public statement in which he is contending that the Government's position is for all of the evidence to come out into the public, despite the DPP indicating that a criminal investigation is under way.
Suggesting this could be another Section 34 in the making, Maharaj said it was public knowledge that "the major players in the CL Financial group are close to the PP Government and actually assisted in financing their political campaign." The former AG said the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration ought to be accountable in how it handles matters, especially those which involve the public purse and criminal proceedings.