Businessman Steve Ferguson has failed in two attempts, both local and foreign, to avoid disclosing his assets as the State seeks to enforce its US$131.3 million judgment against him, former finance minister Brian Kuei Tung, and United States (US) businessman Raul Guiterrez Jr.
The development in the US civil asset recovery case was announced by former attorney general and current Rural Development Minister Faris Al-Rawi in a press release issued late yesterday evening.
Al-Rawi, who was allowed to represent the State after his successor Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, was disqualified for underplaying his role in previously representing Kuei Tung in local criminal proceedings, claimed that on January 22, Ferguson filed a constitutional case challenging the steps taken by the State to enforce the judgment.
“Mr Ferguson sought orders preventing the Republic from seeking orders in Miami requiring him to make disclosure of his assets and from deposing certain witnesses including his son and daughter who reside in Florida to provide information identifying the assets which Mr Ferguson owned or held an interest in,” Al-Rawi said.
Ferguson claimed that the disclosure demand would infringe his constitutional right not to incriminate himself in pending local and US criminal cases over alleged fraud in the construction of the Piarco International Airport.
While the Office of the Attorney General maintained that the case was not meritorious, it sought to allay Ferguson’s concerns by undertaking not to disclose his financial information to US prosecuting authorities and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC.
It also agreed not to levy execution of the judgment on his assets pending the determination of the lawsuit.
Last Friday, High Court Judge Nadia Kangaloo dismissed an application for injunctions against the State as she questioned why Ferguson waited almost two decades before mounting the legal challenge over the State’s US proceedings against him.
“Her Ladyship also expressed the view that if the temporary injunctions sought by Mr Ferguson were granted there would be considerable prejudice to the State given the significant resources expended by it, and by extension taxpayers in this country, in pursuing the litigation in the Florida Proceedings,” Al-Rawi said.
The US proceedings came up for hearing before Justice Reemberto Diaz of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, yesterday.
“At today’s hearing, Judge Diaz overruled all of Mr Ferguson’s objections to the Republic’s discovery requests and interrogatories aimed at identifying Mr Ferguson’s assets that would be available to satisfy the final judgment against him,” Al-Rawi said.
He claimed that the judge gave Ferguson’s lawyers an opportunity to provide details of his claims over self-incrimination in the absence of the State’s legal team but they declined.
Al-Rawi also pointed out that Justice Diaz considered Ferguson’s court filings in the local case in which he admitted that he could no longer be extradited to the US to face criminal charges arising out of the airport project.
In dismissing the objections, the judge gave Ferguson until April 8 to comply with the disclosure orders. He also denied a stay pending the outcome of an appeal.
The final judgment obtained in the Miami case is based on the US$32,385,988 in compensation ordered by the jury, which has to be tripled as the racketeering charges were filed under the US’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO).
The country also successfully sought US$38,876,972.89 in prejudgment interest less US$4,631,691, which was previously paid by the trio in settlements and restitution.
The US lawsuit relates to the alleged inflation of two construction contracts and a maintenance contract for the airport.
The US case is separate from four local criminal cases over the airport project, which involved several prominent businessmen, former ministers and even deceased former