Jack's Cheques Revealed
$.7m put into Chaguanas West account.
By Anika Gumbs (Guardian).SEVEN cheques totalling $0.7 million were deposited into the bank account of the Chaguanas West constituency by road paving contractors Lutchmeesingh's Transport and Contractors Ltd and Namalco Construction Services Ltd.
Continued Sunday Express investigations into the questionable transactions have revealed that six of the deposits were made mere months before corruption accused Jack Warner transferred $.7 million from the Chaguanas West constituency account into personal and a business bank accounts, both belonging to him.
The seventh deposit, however, was made on April 30, 2013 some nine days after Warner resigned as minister of national security in the face of a damning Sir David Simmons CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) report of allegations of multi-million-dollar financial mismanagement against him and former CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer.
Evidence of the seven deposits is shown in the following paper trail listed below:•March 31, 2011-$50,000 (Namalco Ltd)
•August 15, 2012-$42,000 (Lutchmeesingh's Ltd)
•August 17, 2012-$100,000 (Namalco Ltd)
•October 16, 2012-$100,000 (Namalco Ltd)
•December 4, 2012-$200,000 (Namalco Ltd)
•December 29, 2012-$100,000 (Lutchmeesingh's Ltd)
•April 30, 2013-$100,000 (Lutchmeesingh's Ltd)
Lutchmeesingh's Transport and Contractors Ltd was the company that was awarded a contract in 2011 valued at $61,668,510.16 to repair the Tarouba Link Road during Warner's stint as works and infrastructure minister. And records show Namalco Construction Services Ltd was the sub-contractor alongside Brazilian firm Construtora OAS when Warner handed over a $1.5 billion cheque to the National Infrastructure Development Company as part payment for the $7.2 billion highway from Golconda to Point Fortin. Warner has not responded to telephone calls or e-mails sent by the Sunday Express seeking his comment on the deposits made by the contractors.
What Warner saidDuring a press conference on July 14, Warner is on record as saying that the $.7 million transferred to his private and business accounts was his personal money he used to meet the needs of Chaguanas West constituents.
The bills, Warner said, were usually higher than the funds available in the Chaguanas West bank account and, as a result, he used his private money, returning it when funds went into the constituency coffers.
Warner said: “There were times when money had to be replaced and shifted around accounts.”
He also pointed out the importance of money being repaid to his companies whenever it was used.
Warner's response followed a Sunday Express expose last week that revealed the $0.7 million being transferred from the Chaguanas West account to his personal bank account at Intercommercial Bank Ltd (IBL) and into a business account in the name of Hand to Mouth Ltd, a company in which Warner has a business interest.
Warner is the sole signatory on account #373498 at IBL.Two cheques valued at $500,000 were made payable from the Chaguanas West constituency Republic Bank account #290457900101 to his IBL personal account one month apart on December 10, 2012 and January 10, 2013.
The third cheque, valued at $211,448.46, was made payable to Hand to Mouth Ltd, on October 26, 2012 from the Chaguanas West Republic Bank account.
Ten cheques valued at $136,900 showed that the bank account of the Chaguanas West constituency was also debited to pay salaries to Warner.
However, Warner said he did not break his vow as the Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West and accepted a salary.
Six cheques also showed that Warner took back $18,000 from the Chaguanas West constituency bank account as reimbursement for rental of the constituency office.
Contractors and contributionsIt is not the first time bank records have surfaced showing deposits made to bank accounts from contractors during Warner's tenure as a government minister.
As reported previously by this newspaper, Warner, in 2010 and 2011, wrote to contractors and other business interests asking for money.
Back then, Warner, who held the mega-portfolio of Works and Infrastructure, had requested the money to pay for the ministry's Christmas dinner that was estimated to cost $1.9 million.
Bank statements had showed that more than $9.5 million was deposited into a Royal Bank business account listed in the name of JLM Quality Services Ltd, a company Warner was listed as a director up to October 31, 2007.
Among those making a donation to the event was Jusamco Pavers Ltd, which made a $200,000 deposit.