Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge has written to the United States Embassy requesting that the US investigate whether the American financial system was used by a T&T national in alleged "acts of fraud and the illegal payments of bribes and kickbacks."
In a letter mailed via Fedex to the US Charge d'Affaire at the US Embassy, Margaret Diop, Sturge called on the US government to determine whether Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) chairman Noel Garcia had committed an extraditable offence. Sturge copied US Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
He also included in the document the complaint he made on Monday to the Integrity Commission on the matter.
In a press conference on Monday, Sturge showed a dossier of documentary evidence which he alleged showed corrupt actions by Garcia, which he said he had presented to the commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions so a probe could be launched.
In his request to the commission, Sturge presented documents he claims showed that a favoured contractor funded part of Garcia's son's university education. He requested that the commission investigate whether Garcia accepted kickbacks in the form of payments for the education of Garcia's son Christian between 2002 and 2005 from owner of PACE Construction Services Limited Junior Joseph. At that time, Garcia was the managing director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
PACE Construction received multi-million dollar contracts from the HDC for the construction of housing units.
Garcia has denied the allegations, stating he and his wife had paid for the education of all their children. He also said he had no power over which companies were granted contracts during his tenure at HDC.
In his letter, Sturge requested that the US, through the Central Authority of the USA, use its power to make the relevant enquiries to determine whether accounts in the American financial system were used by "persons included, but not limited to Mr Noel Garcia, in connection with acts of fraud, including the receipt or transfer of illegal payments, bribes or kickbacks and if so the exact nature source and disposition of those funds."
He said if anyone had used their offices to commit or assist in the commission of transnational offences, they should be brought to justice by the state in which those offences were committed.
He said he had brought the information to all of the relevant authorities in T&T and considered it his duty to bring the information to the attention of the authorities in the US.
Attempts to reach Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi yesterday were unsuccessful.