There are now revelations that the company paid by the former People’s National Movement-controlled Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to carry out a $2.5m zipline project in Tobago does not exist.
In 2015, the Division of Tourism and Transportation, led by then-secretary Tracy Davidson-Celestine, announced the 1.5-kilometre zipline project but it was never completed.
The issue was a hot-button one in the January 2021 THA election campaign and Davidson-Celestine and then Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) deputy political leader Farley Augustine verbally squared off for weeks over the matter.
At a news conference yon Friday, Augustine, now THA Chief Secretary said the former PNM administration had initiated a court matter concerning the zipline project.
He said when he took office, his executive did not interfere with the proceedings and even left the attorneys hired by the PNM.
The lead attorney is John Jeremy, SC.
However, after consulting with Jeremy, Augustine provided an update on the matter.
“After commencing civil proceedings against Original Canopy Tours Limited for the recovery of millions of dollars spent on the project, it was discovered that the company was not, in fact, a legitimate entity. In fact, attorney John Jeremy and a team did the necessary search in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where the company was said to be registered based on the company registration documents presented to the THA. It was found that the company does not exist there at all,” he explained.
Augustine said the attorney then moved against the local promoters of the company, Richard Graham and Darren Hreniuk, and the High Court issued a freezing injunction against the assets of both men in Trinidad and Tobago.
This was granted by Justice Kevin Ramcharan on November 5.
Augustine also said attorneys in the BVI were retained and the High Court there recognised the injunction from this country.
This took place on Thursday by Justice Gerhard Wallbank in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court’s commercial division for the High Court of the BVI.
Augustine said, additionally, the court is allowing the THA to serve legal papers on the banks in the BVI, “so that the accounts, all the financial transactions through our banking system here and in the BVI that dealt with this matter and the history of the financial transactions will be brought to play by the court and brought into the court in this matter.”
The Chief Secretary also revealed that alongside the civil proceedings, the THA has also made a report to the police via the Fraud Squad.
On November 12, 2020, the Auditor General’s Department wrote a letter to the THA’s Chief Administrator regarding the issues surrounding the proposed zipline course at the Main Ridge in Tobago.
In that letter, the Auditor General noted that no approval was presented from the THA’s Executive Council for the establishment of the facility.
It explained that a total of $2,511,210.20 was paid for “materials and equipment; however, the existence of these assets was not verified.”
“A visit to the Stores section of the Division revealed only some ropes on hand,” the Auditor General said.
In March 2021, following the election, Davidson-Celestine was reported as saying, “The project went through all of the different channels in a very, very transparent way.”
The former PNM Tobago Council political leader then went ahead with her threat of legal action against Augustine for defamation, after he called on her to account for the money spent on the failed project during the THA election campaign.
However, last month, attorneys for Davidson-Celestine and Augustine were told to agree on whether the defamation claim against was dead in the water or can progress.
Guardian Media reached out to Davidson-Celestine for comment on the new developments on the matter yesterday, but none was received up to late Friday night.
But, in an immediate response to the revelations, the new political leader of the PNM Tobago Council, Ancil Dennis, said he is not taking the Chief Secretary’s word.
“Given this Chief Secretary’s track record and reputation, I will not necessarily go along with words said by him, so I will prefer to read the judgement, I hope it is available,” he said.