No stoppng Clico inquiry
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is adamant the commission of enquiry into the collapse of Clico will not be stopped. He said so yesterday in a seven-page letter in response to one from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard to the chairman of the enquiry, Sir Anthony Colman. Gasaprd asked Colman to reconsider his decision to continue the enquiry in public.
Gaspard's six-page letter, sent to Colman on Monday, maintained that the enquiry had the potential to jeopardise "a potentially strong and credible prosecution" of former CL Financial business executives on the basis of adverse pre-trial publicity.
The DPP's letter was in response to Colman's refusal to accede to a request to conduct the "potentially damaging" aspects of the enquiry in private and the "grave inaction" of Ramlogan to advise President George Maxwell Richards to suspend the enquiry or at least vary the its terms of reference.
In response Ramlogan said yesterday: "The AG does not share the view that it is necessary for the enquiry to be stopped at this stage. The position may have been different had criminal charges been laid and prosecution of someone about to start.
"The Sir Anthony Colman commission of enquiry was appointed by the present Government in the face of the silence and inaction on the part of law-enforcement authorities as evidenced by the recent announcement of the commencement of a belated and long overdue criminal investigation." The AG said many innovative options which were open to both parties to reach a reasonable compromise to ensure the interests of both were protected.
He added: "For at the end of the day the DPP is a critical and indispensable part of the administration of justice which it is the AG's constitutional remit to oversee and each has to faithfully embrace and adhere to their respective roles. They should do so in tandem and in the spirit of service to the country.
"For its part the Government wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the pursuit of justice in the Clico fiasco. It therefore remains willing to provide the necessary resources to finance a police investigation into the numerous allegations of fraud and wrongdoing in the Clico fiasco." Ramlogan said the available information in the public domain led to the inescapable conclusion that a criminal investigation was warranted and justified.
Saying the lack of urgency displayed was cause for major concern, Ramlogan added: "The collapse of Clico has traumatised the nation and caused great distress, frustration and depression to many. The public interest therefore demanded swift action."
He said while the Government could not direct a police investigation, the State had, however, through the institution of the Central Bank, commenced action against Lawrence Duprey and Andre Monteil, seeking substantial sums for misapplication and misappropriation of income and assets, to the detriment of policyholders and investors.
"The ongoing Colman enquiry is an independent commission appointed by the President of the republic. It has reached a critical stage and is about to examine crucial witnesses, including Mr Lawrence Duprey, Andre Monteil and a former Governor of the Central Bank," Ramlogan said.
He said Colman had complete responsibility and control over the enquiry and in the circumstances the attorney general considered that inappropriate, if not improper to pre-emptively advise the commission how it should conduct its enquiry. He added: "The commissioner would no doubt address the concerns raised by the DPP and conduct the enquiry in an appropriate manner.
"The independence of the commission dictates that it alone should balance the competing principles of the necessity to protect the integrity of a criminal investigation with that of the continuity of the Inquiry in the public interest." He described the failure to initiate a criminal investigation before the appointment of the CoE was appointed as a "grave public concern and disappointment," adding it was the responsibility of the police commissioner and not the DPP.
Ramlogan said he raised the issue of police inaction with former CoP Dwayne Gibbs on several occasions, but to "no avail." Singlinging out Gaspard for his intervention, Ramlogan said: "The AG is grateful for the intervention of the DPP in this matter. He did not need to intervene; he could have remained in his constitutional crease and simply await the report from the police. His expertise is clearly required in this matter.
"The DPP has a duty to protect the integrity of any criminal investigation because it could lead to criminal prosecution. The AG respects this. "Sir Anthony equally has a duty to fulfil his mandate to inquire into the collapse of Clico in the public interest." Ramlogan said he was confident that the common goal of justice would "guide both parties in their deliberations in this matter and hopeful that an amicable resolution can be found."