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CAUGHT?
Finance Minister closed two US$ accounts in CIB last December
Juhel Browne jbrowne@trinidadexpress.com
Wednesday, March 11th 2009
CLICO Investment Bank (CIB) documents show that Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira closed two US dollar accounts with the bank on December 31, 2008, before they were scheduled to mature later this year.
CIB is one of four CL Financial businesses that benefited from a multi-billion-dollar taxpayer bailout approved by the Cabinet last month.
Nunez-Tesheira said in the Parliament on February 2 that she made the withdrawals from a CIB account that had already matured by December 31, 2008, as she wound up debate on the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill.
Documents obtained by the Express yesterday show that Nunez-Tesheira paid a "break rate" of 3.5 per cent for closing two accounts at CIB worth a total of US$48,549.91, before they were due to mature on April 30, 2009 and August 13, 2009 respectively.
She closed one account at US$37,549.45 and the other at US$11,076.34, including interest.
In Parliament on February 2, Nunez-Tesheira also dismissed claims by Opposition Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar that she had access to privileged information about CIB, which led to her making withdrawals from her accounts with the bank and Caribbean Money Market Brokers (CMMB), another CL subsidiary, late last year.
Nunez-Tesheira had said she was only informed of CIB's difficulties in the middle of January by Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams after he had been notified on January 13.
The Hansard, the official record of the Parliament, shows that Nunez-Tesheira made the following comment regarding a CIB account:
"On December 31, I withdrew an account which had matured on December 31, 2008. You go and check it because when you were making your accusations, I wanted to ensure that I was accurate on the information, and I called to get all the information that I had on every withdrawal I made in relation to those two institutions."
CIB documents show that Nunez-Tesheira sent a fixed deposit break request form to the CIB manager, Fixed Deposit Department, at #1 Rust Street, St Clair, that contained a typewritten request as follows: "Please be advised that I/we wish to break the captioned deposit.
The form asks: Please state a brief reason for breaking your deposit. A handwritten explanation for breaking the deposit follows, stating, "To purchase property. Funds needed. Please prepare one cheque ino (in name of) Karen Tesheira."
The CIB fixed deposit break request form bears Nunez-Tesheira's signature and identified accounts 52801 and 53335.
The form was accompanied by a letter from Nunez-Tesheira that also bears her signature, dated December 31, 2008, addressed to Richard Trotman, president and chief executive officer, CIB, #1 Rust Street, St Clair, drawn to the attention of someone identified as Reyvaan Rampersad.
"Further to our recent discussions, I hereby request the closure of the above-mentioned accounts (53335 and 4003361) with immediate effect. In this regard, it would be greatly appreciated if you could make the cheques available to me by Friday 2nd January, 2009. Thank you for your kind cooperation in this matter," Nunez-Tesheira wrote.
Copies of two CIB US dollar Certificates of Deposit show that she broke two deposits on December 31, 2008.
The first deposit had an original value of US$34,799.65, with a value date of August 13, 2008 and a maturity date of August 13, 2009.
The second deposit had an original value of US$10,161.59, with a value date of April 30, 2007 and a maturity date of April 30, 2009. Both deposits had a seven per cent interest rate.
'Accounts were rolled over'
-Juhel Browne
Wednesday, March 11th 2009
Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira says that the CLICO Investment Bank (CIB) accounts which she closed on December 31 last year, before they matured later this year, had actually matured previously and were "rolled over".
As such, Nunez-Tesheira said she did not realise and was not informed by anyone at CIB that she was, in fact, breaking the accounts.
"The request was first made verbally. In that initial discussion, no one said to me that what I was doing I was breaking an account," Nunez-Tesheira said.
She made the comments in a telephone interview with the Express last night, in response to questions about new CIB documents that show she had broken two US dollar accounts with the bank, before they matured on April 30, 2009 and August 13, 2009 respectively.
"Both accounts, as far as I am aware, they (CIB) asked me what I wanted to do with it, whether I wanted to roll it over. I rolled it over, and if I am asking for it after (they rolled over), means that I am breaking it, that is not my understanding," Nunez-Tesheira said.
She was questioned specifically about the CIB fixed deposit break-request form dated December 31, 2008, to the CIB manager, Fixed Deposit Department.
That form contained a typewritten request as follows: "Please be advised that I/we wish to break the captioned deposit."
"As far as I am concerned, I am saying to you and that would be the end of it, I did not consider...I was asked to roll it over, if that is what the document says, that is what the document says, what difference does it make? I do not know?" Nunez-Tesheira asked.
She had told the Express on Sunday that when she signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey on January 20, there was no conflict of interest given the terms and conditions of the document and, therefore, she did not benefit from it in any way at all.
"What I did in my capacity in the Ministry of Finance is make CL Financial assets available to liquidate CLICO's debt," Nunez-Tesheira said of the MOU.
aR&D wrote:either she resign or face jail ... same thing, no different than how Panday was hounded for not declaring, same thing for Karen, absolutely no difference .... the rat is on the run!
CAUGHT?'Accounts were rolled over'
-Juhel Browne
Wednesday, March 11th 2009
Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira says that the CLICO Investment Bank (CIB) accounts which she closed on December 31 last year, before they matured later this year, had actually matured previously and were "rolled over".
As such, Nunez-Tesheira said she did not realise and was not informed by anyone at CIB that she was, in fact, breaking the accounts.
"The request was first made verbally. In that initial discussion, no one said to me that what I was doing I was breaking an account," Nunez-Tesheira said.
She made the comments in a telephone interview with the Express last night, in response to questions about new CIB documents that show she had broken two US dollar accounts with the bank, before they matured on April 30, 2009 and August 13, 2009 respectively.
"Both accounts, as far as I am aware, they (CIB) asked me what I wanted to do with it, whether I wanted to roll it over. I rolled it over, and if I am asking for it after (they rolled over), means that I am breaking it, that is not my understanding," Nunez-Tesheira said.
She was questioned specifically about the CIB fixed deposit break-request form dated December 31, 2008, to the CIB manager, Fixed Deposit Department.
That form contained a typewritten request as follows: "Please be advised that I/we wish to break the captioned deposit."
"As far as I am concerned, I am saying to you and that would be the end of it, I did not consider...I was asked to roll it over, if that is what the document says, that is what the document says, what difference does it make? I do not know?" Nunez-Tesheira asked.
She had told the Express on Sunday that when she signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey on January 20, there was no conflict of interest given the terms and conditions of the document and, therefore, she did not benefit from it in any way at all.
"What I did in my capacity in the Ministry of Finance is make CL Financial assets available to liquidate CLICO's debt," Nunez-Tesheira said of the MOU.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161450216
16 cycles wrote:how much law does one have to practice to amass such wealth?
what field of law?
If one got that much wealth from practice - failed to read and understand a legal document concerning one's own finances - what does that say about one's professional competency?
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