Lawrence Duprey/Clico Thread.

[Flex]

DUPREY'S $96M BONUS
By Jada Loutoo (Newsday) Saturday, June 11 2011

FORMER CL Financial honcho, billionaire businessman Lawrence Duprey received, over a seven year period, “consultancy fees, salary and bonuses,” as direct payments from Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited (Clico), amounting to over $96.8 million to support his personal needs and lifestyle and that of members of his family.

The shocking claim forms part of the Central Bank and Clico’s civil lawsuit against the businessman who has been in control of the insurance behemoth and its parent company for over 20 decades, until recently.

On Tuesday, attorneys representing the Central Bank and Clico — a subsidiary of CL Financial — initiated legal proceedings against Duprey and Andre Monteil, a former group financial director of CL Financial, seeking what could amount to billions in damages.

The two are being made to answer as to why the conglomerate failed, taking with it millions of dollars of investments of policyholders and investors and threatening the stability of the country’s economy. They have been accused of mismanagement of Clico, misapplication and misappropriation of the insurance giant’s income and assets to the detriment of its policyholders and mutual fund investors.

A statement from the Central Bank said civil proceedings were filed against Duprey, Monteil, CL Financial, Dalco Capital Management and Stone Street Capital Limited – companies both men were affiliated with – rising from the failure of Clico which resulted in the Central Bank having to exercise its emergency powers under Section 44D of the Central Bank Act, in respect of the insurance giant.

According to the statement of case filed by the Central Bank and Clico, there were similar payments to Dalco totalling $468.9 million.

Monteil was said to have received salaries, totalling $16.8 million over a four-year period, as well as receiving consultancy fees, on behalf of Stone Street, to the tune of US$4.5 million (TT$28.8 million) for separate transactions, according to the lawsuit obtained by Newsday.

Stone Street was presented as the CL Financial group’s financial advisers. It was said the monies paid to Duprey and Monteil were procured from Clico coffers.

The lawsuit alleges that Clico’s operation was “grossly deficient,” claiming that interests of policyholders and mutual fund investors were used for funding of Duprey’s personal needs and lifestyle, as well as those of other members of his family and private companies.

Additional information obtained by Newsday indicates that Clico’s monies were used to fund “unsuitable and high risk” projects in pursuit of Duprey’s personal global ambitions, including real estate projects in Florida.

These transactions are said to be the Capri Project, Palazzo Las Olas, the Merrick Park Project and The Wellington preserve Project and Clico was reported to have provided primary financing between 2001 to 2009, involving the provision of eight guarantees of a US$245 million loan to Capri Resorts and Capri Hotel in 2006; the injection of a further $18.5 million to restructure the loan. It was said that Clico has no equity in the project and the issue is still under investigation.

Additionally, it has been alleged that Clico’s monies were used to invest in other unsuccessful Florida property ventures at Palazzo Las Olas, Wellington Preserve and Merrick Park, resulting in losses to the company, exceeding US$55 million.

The bank and Clico’s lawsuit, spoke of the operation of two types of Ponzi schemes by using Clico’s “today’s premiums to pay yesterday’s obligations.”

CL Financial was described as having increasingly become “a behemoth built on debt” while another subsidiary Clico Investment Bank (CIB) was “rumoured to be a basket case, but has been for years.”

The insurance giant — which has over 100,000 individual clients, 450 group health and life clients, 180 group pension plan clients and 14,000 pensioners — was said to be periodically unable to pay its debts, including being unable to meet its obligations to policyholders in full.

The Central Bank and the Government were forced to take control of the conglomerate and its banking and insurance subsidiaries, in January 2009, after Duprey sought a bailout when Clico and CIB’s liquidity problems were made public.

It almost immediately faced a slew of policyholder lawsuits stemming from its inability to pay claims as they fell due.

The prized Clico was said to be weighed down with policyholders’ liabilities of more than $12 billion.

At that time CL Financial controlled over $100 billion of assets in at least 72 companies in 32 countries throughout the region and the world and its financial interests covered several industry sectors including banking and financial services, energy, real estate, manufacturing and distribution.

In the months following its bailout, the financially-stricken Clico reportedly sucked up more than $5 billion in taxpayers’ money. According to the statement of case, in 2008, the Central Bank determined that Clico’s statutory fund (at December 31, 2007) was in deficit by $616,729,110.

Towards the end of 2008, having determined that there was a significant deficit in Clico’s statutory fund in 2007, the Central Bank was said to have become concerned about the state of the fund and made contact with the company’s officials.

The Central Bank’s deputy director of financial institutions was informed that Clico’s statutory fund was deficient by some $2 billion and investigations of the fund’s deterioration points to it being in deficit from as far back as 2001.

Eighty-three percent of Clico’s assets were said to be invested in other companies of the CL Financial group, including over $4.2 billion in fixed deposits with CIB, raising red flags with the Central Bank.

CIB was said, at the time of Central Bank’s intervention, to be suffering from low liquidity ratios and being unable to convert the fixed deposits held by Clico into cash within a reasonable time frame, while the returns on Clico’s investments in other CL Financial group companies had declined in value due to falling market prices for real estate and methanol.

Clico was described as a “cash cow” and the “cash engine” for CL Financial. The lawsuit also alleges that there was no proper governance of Clico, CL Financial or CIB.

The civil proceedings has highlighted that the actual position in relation to the CL Financial group, Clico and CIB was very different from the self-portrayed position and the general public impression.

“Indeed, increasingly over time their actual position became the inverse of the self-portrayed position,” the lawsuit noted.

It was also said that auditors and actuaries expressed concerns that, from as early as 1995, the financial state of Clico was of great concern and the company’s financial state was also of constant and increasing concern to regulators.

“Over the years, Clico’s assets and liabilities were misrepresented, misreported and manipulated, including by related party transactions in order to conceal the deficit and increasing chasm in the statutory fund.”

Investigations into CIB, to date, have also revealed that the bank has failed to perform its duties as trustee of the mutual funds and at January 20, 2009 was estimated to have net liabilities of about $4.7 billion.

An Ernst and Young report — which also forms part of winding-up proceedings filed by CIB and its State appointed manager — noted that CIB “would have probably been deemed insolvent in 2007.”

“Investigations into the affairs of the CL Financial group, Clico and CIB have been and continue to be complex and difficult, especially in relation to earlier years,” the lawsuit notes. On Wednesday, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said the claim revealed that a large and fast expanding insurance company led people to believe that it was safe for policyholders to invest in it and they will get a very high and attractive rate of return and in the end, there was an artificial layer within the management of the company which led it to implode as it were.

He also said he has directed that all material unearthed from the investigations into CL Financial, Clico and its subsidiaries be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for determination as to whether criminal charges can be laid against the principals of the conglomerate.

In a separate interview, DPP Roger Gaspard admitted he had been in receipt of documents from the Central Bank and was in the process of seeking advice from Queen’s Counsel on the issue. There are currently several lawsuits before the courts filed by investors and policyholders seeking to get back their investments from the failed companies (Clico and CIB). A commission of inquiry – led by sole commissioner Sir Anthony Colman – has also been launched to investigate the failure of CL Financial and several of its subsidiaries.

The Central Bank said the legal proceedings were based on the forensic investigations commissioned by the bank into the affairs of Clico. The forensic work is continuing and may result in the expansion of this claim and/or further action. Up to yesterday, attorneys for both men were said to be formulating their defence of the claims stated in the Central Bank and Clico’s lawsuit against them.

[lefty]

@ flex Ah it might be ah small oversight eh but which paper.


Clico been stretchin dey self for years and the clico situation had been bubbling for years (over d course of 2 govt administrations) and the d regulators stood idly by an did nothing..........in fact the regulators were being constantly emasculated by people in authority for d sake ah dem Bounce an Loss agencies much less Clico, Ramesh knew it, in fact I suspect everybody in the "higher up" inner circle knew or had an inkling, if people feel dat "wah is she name " and Montiel is d only people dat was able to secure dey money when d ship sink, dey sleepin under ah rock, Clico wasn't no ponsy  scheme perse but dey was over extending deyself and overstating d potential gains to keep d premiums comin in to stay liquid or maintain d illusion of liquidity, then the financial crash went into overdrive(I tink dat was comin looong time) and all fell down  ............

[rotatopoti3]

@ flex Ah it might be ah small oversight eh but which paper.

Look lefty righty and lefty again...den look in d 2nd line....tell me wha yuh see

[lefty]

Look lefty righty and lefty again...den look in d 2nd line....tell me wha yuh see

ah not blind d post was edited not to long after I posted

[Flex]

Clico, CB suit targets assets
By JADA LOUTOO (TT Newsday).
Sunday, June 12 2011

Former CL Financial chairman, billionaire businessman Lawrence Duprey, and the company’s former financial director, former Clico Investment Bank boss Andre Monteil, could find themselves doling out millions of dollars in restitution if the Central Bank and Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited (Clico) are successful in their civil suit against the two.

With no holds barred, the Central Bank and Clico intend to ask the local courts to order that the two men, and their companies — parent company CL Financial, Dalco Capital Management and Stone Street Capital — pay financial compensation for the roles they may have played in the collapse of the region’s prominent insurance and financial giant.

According to documents filed in the court by Central Bank and Clico, the judge who will hear the case is being asked to make orders for the two men, as well as their companies, to not only pay restitution, but also deliver up whatever assets they have in their possession, now or previously, which may have been acquired from Clico and its statutory fund or mutual funds.

On Tuesday last, the Central Bank and Clico created headline news when a statement was issued by the former, indicating that civil proceedings had been filed in the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago against the men at the helm of what was considered the region’s most successful financial institution.

The civil suit came more than two years after the collapse of the prized insurance giant. In 2009, Duprey was forced to turn to the Central Bank and the then PNM government for help, after he found himself unable to keep his massive conglomerate afloat amidst a turbulent global financial meltdown, and falling methanol and real estate prices. The life-line offered by the Central Bank and the then government angered many around the region, most of whom had invested their life savings in the companies controlled by the two men.

Former Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira and Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams defended the intervention, saying it had to be done to protect the already delicate local economy and ensure that the insurance company could return to financial health after it found itself swirling in a sea of red ink under Duprey’s watch.

That sea has now turned black — a good sign, according to present Finance Minister Winston Dookeran, who noted recently that the company was slowly showing signs of being able to breathe on its own and may soon be taken off the life-support system.

The insurance behemoth’s thousands of policyholders and investors are hopeful that they will not have to wait the 20 years to get back their returns; a plan devised by Dookeran to ensure that they do not end up the biggest losers while protecting the already vulnerable local economy.

With the lawsuit now filed and the provisions that the Central Bank and Clico are asking for: damages and restitution, many are looking on with bated breaths, hopeful that they, too, will get a piece of the pie.

The lawsuit filed last Tuesday asks that Clico be allowed to trace, follow and recover the lost assets or recover whatever substituted assets are available from the men and their companies. The document filed in the court noted that for two decades, the impression portrayed in TT and throughout the Caribbean region of the CL Financial Group of companies, was of a highly successful, fast expanding and diversified international group – the creation of a man with apparently remarkable talent, ambition and vision. It was noted that Duprey promoted and projected that impression in persona, personal wealth, lifestyle, largesse and publicity. His mantra was growth and sales and he rose from being Clico’s IT manager in 1970 to its chairman and also head honcho of the group of companies.

Clico was incorporated as an insurance business in 1936 and was built and founded by Duprey’s uncle Cyril Duprey. The elder Duprey suffered a stroke in 1987 and died a year later.

Both CL Financial and Clico were portrayed as successful, offering attractive products with very high returns and in so far as the group was concerned, was extending its arms to embrace sectors beyond the world of finance in places such as the US, South America, the UK, Europe and Oman, in the Gulf. The reality that was CLF and Clico was very different – in fact it was the very opposite, the lawsuit claimed.

It has been alleged that the man once considered a financial genius operated two Ponzi schemes, channelling investors and policyholders’ monies to fund his wide global ambitions, which included real estate in Florida, acquisitions of European and Caribbean drinks companies, energy companies and the construction of methanol plants in the Caribbean and the Gulf.

It has been noted from a former CL employee that “generally, every risk known to man and then some are in Clico’s’s balance sheet”.

“Clico does not invest assets in support of its liabilities.”

Already, Clico, as part of the bailout plan by the Central Bank and Government, has sucked up more than $5 billion in taxpayers’ money. It was this high and fast wheeling and dealing which led to its equally fast destruction and to the civil suit launched last week.

The lawsuit notes that as Clico expanded, so too did the debt owed to it by CLF and CIB. Over the years, CLF’s debt to Clico was estimated at $2.4 billion by 2008, while CIB’s debt was estimated at $4.23 billion. Clico was unable to recover the amounts owed to it by both CLF and CIB and found itself being unable to pay its own debts, particularly to meet the demands of its policyholders.

Duprey and Monteil have been accused of not seeking to recover the sums of money owed to Clico, but instead accepting fresh certificates of deposits from the company.

The lawsuit filed against Duprey, Monteil and their companies in the courts alleges breach of statutory and common law duties and related accessory liabilities on the part of the defendants, and highlights certain egregious transactions involving the use of Clico’s assets and income to its detriment, such as transactions related to shares in Republic Bank Limited; drinks transactions including Lascelles de Mercado (a Jamaican group); energy transactions including the sale of Clico’s stake in Clico Energy Ltd; Florida property transactions; and the sale of seven million Home Mortgage Bank shares.

The pleadings highlight, “the subordination of the interests of Clico, its policyholders, mutual fund unit investors to the private interests of Duprey and Monteil and their companies; the lack of proper governance and serial mismanagement; and improper dealing with Clico’s assets and the funds of policyholders and mutual fund unit holders.

The Central Bank said last week that the legal proceedings are based on the forensic investigations commissioned by the bank into the affairs of Clico. The forensic work is continuing and may result in the expansion of this claim and/or further action.

It also alleges that there was no proper governance of Clico, CLF and CIB and that the insurance giant’s assets and liabilities were misrepresented, misreported and manipulated in order to conceal the deficit and increasing chasm in the Statutory Fund.

Clico was alleged to be CLF’s cash cow as the group was unable to pay its expenses or obligations. Clico was made to pay these but was not compensated. Clico was also used for Duprey’s personal benefit and to fund his vision, it is alleged. It was also alleged that he received bonuses and salaries totalling TT$96.8 million. Dalco also received commissions totalling $486.9 million from Clico. Monteil has been alleged to have received salaries estimated at $16.8 million, even for the period when he was no longer a director of the company from 2005 to 2008.

Monteil, a former PNM Treasurer, has been accused of receiving commissions on Stone Street’s behalf, contrary to director benefit prohibition, including a US$3.5 million commission payment for the 2004 CIB ten percent shareholding purchase in Republic Bank Limited.

It was also alleged that sometime in 2005, Clico was made to transfer $7.5 million to CLF to fund a dividend payment, as well as, in the following year, made to replenish a bank account in the amount of $22 million. Clico was also made to procure non-performing assets in its statutory fund, including a $500 million CIB bond in 2002, as well as certificates of deposits for fixed deposits for which CIB did not pay interests and neither did CLF nor CIB pay their debts when they fell due.

Duprey was said to be taking money from the company as he wished while the Clico board of directors sat on the sidelines, unable to say or do anything and at times even being unaware of the transactions. Both men have also been accused of failing to report to the Central Bank, Clico’s statutory fund deficit and its serious liquidity and solvency problems.

Also contained in the pleadings is an accusation against Duprey that he sold Clico’s share of Clico Energy in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the PNM government in January 2009.

The build up of intercompany debt led to contagion risks said to be high and assets and money were allegedly transferred from Clico in return for Certificates of Deposit from CIB, totalling over $4.23 billion, and CLF debentures, totalling over $1.1 billion, as well as a CIB $500 million bond.

It was also alleged that the men kept reinvesting fixed deposits in the same financial institution instead of obtaining a return of its principal to reduce its exposure to risks. In so doing, both men were said to have exposed Clico to contagion risk and excessive credit risk of CLF and CIB. It was said to have been done “all in the family” and with CLF at the centre, the group was as strong as it weakest link and owing just about everybody.

The pleadings filed in court lists in details several other transactions allegedly perpetrated by both men, including the transfer of HMB shares, held by Clico, to Monteil’s Stone Street investment firm. This allegation also forms part of another lawsuit filed by CIB’s state-appointed manager Carl Hiralal, and is expected to be called tomorrow.

Hiralal is seeking the return to CIB of some $110 million as a result of a loan transaction by Monteil in 2007 to his Stone Street Capital investment firm. The monies being sought represent the outstanding $78 million loan balance plus interest payments on the February 14, 2007, CIB borrowing issued to Stone Street.

The lawsuit, filed by Hiralal in April of last year, claims Monteil and Trotman colluded and breached their directors’ fiduciary duties and failed to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company. It is being contended that the $78 million loan paid out in December 2007 to facilitate Stone Street Capital’s acquisition of Clico’s 43.8 percent interest in HMB, breached HMB’s internal control procedures and was nothing short of an act of “self- dealing” by Monteil, who was chairman of HMB and also group financial director of CL Financial.

The lawsuit accuses Monteil and Trotman of a series of wrongful actions and also takes the entire CIB board of directors to task for mishandling the situation and breach of fiduciary duties on several counts, key among them the failure of the directors at a board meeting on June 22, 2007, to ensure that the loan was fully secured.

Monteil, in his defence filed in reply to the lawsuit, confirmed that Stone Street Capital did not repay the $78 million transferred to it under a loan from CIB to buy the HMB shares, after its transfer to a company later bought by Dalco — another company owned by Duprey. He also said the transfer of the $78 million to Stone Street Capital was done on the strength of an oral agreement and the CIB board accepted that the shares were being bought by the loan as security for the same loan. He also deposed that at times, the Central Bank conducted detailed inspections of the CIB books.

The Central Bank’s lawsuit against Duprey and Monteil alleges that because of their breaches of fiduciary duties, Clico has suffered loss and damage and has been prejudiced in so far as its entitlements of property, money, shares, deposits and real estate were misappropriated and wrongfully diverted from the company; and has been exposed to and continued to be exposed to multiple liabilities and claims, including claims by policyholders and mutual fund investors, most of whom have filed lawsuits seeking to get back their investments.

Clico has also been alleged to have been caused to pay $349 million to CLF, without benefit and has suffered and continues to suffer loss and damage. Clico’s true position being concealed from CBTT led to the bank not being able to intervene earlier and prevent loss and prejudiced, the lawsuit states.

The bank and Clico are claiming that because of Monteil’s and Duprey’s actions and alleged breach of their duties, Clico is entitled to recover money or other property purportedly paid or transferred and compensation for loss sustained by the company.

The bank and Clico are also seeking to have the court rescind, if found to be void or voidable, any agreements made as it relates to the way the insurance giant was used as a cash cow and a lending agency.

In a recent statement, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said the legal action taken by the Central Bank against Duprey and Monteil was just one of several to come. He said the bank’s claims for damages, equitable compensation and declarations related to certain agreements and property of Clico were very wide and, if successful, will lead to a significant award that can be properly utilised in the interest of the company and its policyholders.

He said of the lawsuit, “What the claim really revealed is that a large and fast expanding insurance company led people to believe that it was safe for policyholders to invest in it and they will get a very high and attractive rate of return and in the end, there was an artificial layer within the management of the company which led it to implode as it were.

“The divergence of funds into several subsidiaries, the acquisition of substantial real estate holdings utilising funds from the depositors, we have the interest in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere, the divergence of dividends which were owed to Clico, we have certain transactions within the energy sector which need to be looked at. Of course we have the sale by Clico to Stone Street of seven million HMB shares which was not in the interest of Clico, and at a price which was not authorised by Clico.”

On Tuesday, hours before the lawsuit was filed, Ramlogan met with the Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams and a high-powered team of attorneys from London as well as local counsel.

Leading the team is John Powell, QC, of 4 New Square Chambers in Lincoln’s Inn, a leading expert in financial services and complex fraud cases, as well as professional negligence. Also part of the team is Leigh-Ann Mulcahy, supported by Nicholas Fletcher, a senior partner with Berwin Leighton Paisner in London. Also forming a part of the team are local attorneys Ian Benjamin and Elena Araujo, who filed the lawsuit at the Port-of-Spain High Court Registry at about 2.30 pm on Tuesday.

Ramlogan said he has also ordered that all the information obtained from the investigations and inquiries into the failure of CL Financial and its subsidiaries, be forwarded to the DPP to see whether they can be of assistance to him in deciding whether criminal charges should be laid. The AG was adamant that the Government could neither influence nor pressure the Commissioner of Police or the DPP to initiate criminal prosecution. But he added that the latest lawsuit was the first in a series of claims that will be filed in the Clico scandal.

“Others are in the pipeline and are nearing completion,” he said.

Gaspard also disclosed that he was in receipt of documents from the Central Bank and was in the process of having Queen’s Counsel give advice on whether there are grounds for criminal charges to be laid.

Sunday Newsday understands that forensic accountant Bob Lindquist, whose forensic report formed the bedrock for the civil suit against Duprey and Monteil, is expected in the country this week. He is expected to hold talks with officials in connection with investigations surrounding Udecott and its former boss, Calder Hart.

[Flex]

Look lefty righty and lefty again...den look in d 2nd line....tell me wha yuh see

ah not blind d post was edited not to long after I posted

Yes, it was edited... it only had the writer, I added Newsday in after when I saw lefty message.

[Flex]

Stop the probe
Duprey claims double jeopardy:
By Renuka Singh (Express).

BUSINESS MOGUL Lawrence Duprey yesterday made moves to stall the Commission of Enquiry into collapse of financial conglomerate CL Financial, scheduled to kick off on Monday.

He claims that a lawsuit filed by the Central Bank, earlier this month, against him and other former company officials, will strain his legal resources as both proceedings will overlap.

A five-page document issued by the legal team representing the former CL Financial chairman was delivered to Commissioner Sir Anthony Coleman and all other interested parties to the proceedings yesterday, requesting that the Enquiry be put off until the civil lawsuit between the Central Bank and Duprey was resolved.

The lawsuit alleges that Duprey and several other former company officials misapplied and misappropriated billions of dollars to the detriment of its policyholders and mutual fund investors.

Duprey's legal team is expected to file its response to the Central Bank lawsuit by July 6.

In January 2009, under the former People's National Movement administration, the Central Bank entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with CL Financial, the parent company of insurance giant CLICO, British American, and several other subsidiaries, to bailout the then insolvent company.

The debt has since accumulated to $7 billion and counting, with only investments of $75,000 and under being refunded. Other investors have taken court action to recover their funds.

Just three days before the official start of the Enquiry, Dupery's legal team, attorneys Lionel Luckhoo, Andrew Mitchell QC and Rajiv Persad, said there would be a major overlap between the Enquiry and the civil lawsuit against Duprey.

Legal sources said that if the Enquiry is not voluntarily rescheduled Duprey's legal team are prepared to head to High Court to seek an injunction blocking the proceedings.

The Enquiry, which had a procedural hearing in April, is scheduled to begin receiving evidence between Monday and July 8, at Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port of Spain. The Enquiry was also appointed to investigate the collapse of the Hindu Credit Union.

Among the reasons for application of the stay was the duplication and overlap of the presentations in both cases.

"There are major issues of regulatory oversight that will need to be aired during the civil claim and that is likely that you (Commissioner) will have to look at these issues as well the possible high cost of the civil claim by the Central Bank," the letter stated.

"Such duplication will prejudice the civil action," the legal team noted.

Luckhoo noted that the Enquiry had no power to award financial compensation but could only make recommendations for future action.

He said the lawsuit initiated by the Central Bank "might have as a consequence a significant financial order against one or more of the parties".

"It is essential that their resources are properly applied to the action where the risk is paramount," he said.

The team also cited the wide coverage of the Enquiry as well as it being fodder for political mileage among their reasons for the application of stay to be accepted.

"The Commission of Enquiry concomitantly with the civil claim would be an abuse of the process of the judicial process in that there will be a substantial overlap of witnesses, information and the subject matter involved," Luckhoo noted.

The letter went on to detail ten points and 23 sub-points all outlining reasons for staying the Enquiry.

"Given the wide publicity, any findings of the Commission of Enquiry are likely to be prejudicial to the fair trial of the civil claim and the appearance of the administration of justice," he said.

Luckhoo noted the Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and "several other Government Ministers" have already called for "certain matters" be dealt with in this Enquiry and already publicly stated that those issues would be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

"As such this will impact on any fair criminal trial that might be in contemplation, requiring someone in the position of Mr Duprey to fight on three fronts," he said.

"There has been several reports by a certain Government official that demonstrate the Government's intention to use that Commission of Enquiry as part of the Government's political campaign," he said, adding that the Enquiry should avoid being "dragged" into that campaign.

[Flex]

Duprey blanked
ANDRE BAGOO (Newsday).
Thursday, June 30 2011

CHAIRMAN of the Clico Commission of Inquiry Sir Anthony Coleman yesterday refused an application by lawyers acting on behalf of former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey to remain silent at the proceedings. The ruling effectively means Duprey will face penalties if he refuses to comply with orders to give oral evidence.

Lead attorney for Duprey, Andrew Mitchell QC, on Monday orally applied for Coleman to allow Duprey to remain a party to the proceedings without being called on to give evidence, given simultaneous civil court proceedings revolving around Clico. The application and resulting legal submissions in response absorbed almost three days of the inquiry’s proceedings.

Coleman yesterday afternoon blanked Duprey’s request after hearing hours of legal submissions.

“I have considered the matter very carefully and have come to the conclusion that I should not accede to the application now before the commission for a number of reasons,” Coleman said.

“I shall not give those reasons now. It seems to me that because of the public interest and the unusual nature of the application…I should give a reasoned judgment which I will give in writing as soon as it can be pulled together.”

“There are certain complexities in this which I wish to express in written form. Accordingly the application…as refined…is refused,” he ruled.

Earlier, attorneys representing the Clico Policyholders’s Group (CPG), the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and PricewaterhouseCoopers, all objected to Duprey’s request, leading to Mitchell’s remark that his client’s application faced a “tsunami of opposition.”

Mitchell argued that Duprey’s rights were possibly infringed by the prospect of simultaneous civil and criminal proceedings. Attorney for CPG, Terrence Bharath, argued that the application was premature.

“Mr Duprey ought to present himself here and give evidence,” Bharath said. “The policyholders deserve to hear what happened and Mr Duprey, more than any other person, is the man to explain that.”

Noting that Duprey has been the one who approached the State for its intervention in Clico, Bharath asked, “Why is it that he would approach the Government for help and then not come to the COI and say ‘I am not going to help this inquiry’?” Duprey’s silence, he said, “would be a travesty of justice.”

“At the end of the day it would be wrong. He cannot just stay outside in Miami and remain silent. He must present himself for cross-examination,” Bharath said.

Counsel for the inquiry, Peter Carter QC, argued that Duprey’s application was premature criticised Mitchell for reportedly remarking (not at yesterday’s open hearing) that Duprey faced a mere “flea bite” of a $2,000 fine if he refused to attend the hearings.

“The prospect of criminal proceedings is speculative and when it is speculative one has to wonder whether it comes near to the real risk of prejudice,” Carter said. He noted that the inquiry has clear terms of reference which compel it to unravel what happened in the Clico collapse.

“How could you do that without Mr Duprey playing a central role in this inquiry? It is simply impractical to assume that the inquiry could proceed if Mr Duprey is not a central part or a central figure in the process,” Carter said. He queried how the Central Bank, regulators and auditors would explain their roles if they could not refer to the actions of Duprey.

“How are they to explain their own roles if they are embargoed from referring to the context of Mr Duprey’s statements and actions? How do we do the public and policyholders justice explaining to them what happened?”

Central Bank attorney Bankim Tanki QC noted that civil cases have in the past proceeding alongside inquiries. “The reason for that is that there is no risk of injustice,” he said.

[Flex]

Duprey paid himself $10.7M
ANDRE BAGOO (Newsday).
Friday, July 1 2011

TEN DAYS after he wrote to the Central Bank warning that the CL Financial (CLF) group needed funds to face-off liquidity problems, former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey and the CLF board oversaw payment of $22.5 million in shareholder dividends — $10.7 million of which was paid to two companies of Duprey.

While Duprey had quietly written Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams on January 13, 2009, saying, “We may need urgent liquidity support to be made available to the group” and warning that the group’s assets could not immediately meet projected calls on cash reserves of the company, at a CLF shareholders meeting, ten days later, he presented a “bold and optimistic” report on the company. Dividends were approved for payment, mere days before the Central Bank’s intervention into CLF companies was announced.

“Such was the apparent affluence of CLF that a $3 dividend was declared for the year ending December 31, 2007,” said Peter Carter, QC, counsel to the Commission of Enquiry into Clico which continued hearings yesterday at the Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain.

“As there were 7.5 million fully paid shares, that meant dividend payments of $22.5 million. Meanwhile, CIB, Clico and British American Insurance could not pay their depositors and policyholders. A total of $22.5 million dollars was paid out at a time when CLF was illiquid.

“Of this $22.5 million, $10.7 million was paid into two private companies of Mr Duprey,” Carter said, citing Duprey’s 42 percent shareholding in CLF.

Carter’s confirmation of reports of the payment of dividends came as he also disclosed that:

* the CLF group disposed of a lucrative asset, Eurotecnica Melamine SA to a private company of Duprey’s a month before he wrote the Central Bank Governor;

* that Duprey told former Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira at a closed-door emergency meeting days before the Government entered with an Memorandum of Understanding with CLF that “no one knows” the status of the asset hole at the group;

* the CLF group was “a house of cards” and its “labyrinth” of inter-group transactions and entities may have been designed to conceal its true state of affairs.

Carter noted that on December 12, 2008, CE Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Clico Energy Ltd, in which CLF had a 51 percent share) agreed to sell its 60 percent holding (337,800 shares) in Eurotecnica Melamine SA to Swiss Clico.Swiss Clico, he said, was not a part of CL Financial, but a company of Lawrence Duprey’s.

Despite his central role in CLF, Duprey did not attend key meetings with the Ministry of Finance leading up to the State’s intervention, provoking the ire of then Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira.

Duprey was not present at a meeting on January 24, 2009 with Nunez-Tesheira, Williams, public servants and CLF officials. Nunez-Tesheira told then CLF secretary Gita Sakal that the assets of Clico may not be adequate to deal with the statutory shortfall and demanded an up-front position with regard to CLF assets. (At the time Nunez-Tesheira, whose late husband was a senior Clico executive, held shares in Clico).

According to Carter, the former PNM finance minister told Sakal, “We need an upfront position now and that means Mr Duprey must come and speak to us now. Mr Duprey holds the key here.” Sakal rebutted that Duprey was not the largest shareholder. But Nunez-Tesheira remained firm, pointing out Duprey’s overwhelming influence and control of the CLF group. The next day Duprey (who appears to have flown into the country from Florida) met the finance minister.

To all queries over assets, he defers to his henchman L Andre Monteil, by this point retained as a “consultant” to “negotiate”. A clearly unimpressed Nunez-Tesheira bluntly cut to the chase:

“It’s very simple, what assets are there to meet the gaps? I need the facts today,” she reportedly said. “I need to know what the status is.” Duprey reportedly replied, “No one knows. By Friday I will have a plan.”

“A company which is in breach of its statutory duties and fiduciary responsibilities is saying we got ourselves into this mess, please help us,” Carter said. But that same company was not willing to disclose key information. “Their position was ‘we have a liquidity problem. We are in meltdown and we are not going to tell you what the position is’.” Of CIB and British American, Carter noted that Ernst & Young prepared reports which “identified substantial failures of management.” BA was in default of statutory requirements by $890 million.


HIMSELF TO HIMSELF: Former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey.

[Brownsugar]

Geez and ages!!!.....Greed boy, greed....

People on the brink of financial collapse (e.g. pensioners who put dey whole life savings in CLICO) and these nasty, greedy, stinking people was hoarding off millions.....

And de hard part is Duprey would never make a jail in this 2 x 4 banana republic....steups!!

[100% Barataria]

Geez and ages!!!.....Greed boy, greed....

People on the brink of financial collapse (e.g. pensioners who put dey whole life savings in CLICO) and these nasty, greedy, stinking people was hoarding off millions.....

And de hard part is Duprey would never make a jail in this 2 x 4 banana republic....steups!!

World over girl, irrespective of ethnicity, culture, gender or nationality..

[Flex]

$90 million A YEAR
Lawyer tells enquiry Duprey raked in big bucks from 'cash cow' CLICO
By by Joel Julien
Sep 21, 2011

LAWRENCE DUPREY was paid $90 million a year from the deposits of policyholders in collapsed insurance company CLICO, attorney Neal Bisnath said yesterday.

Duprey, the former executive chairman of CL Financial, was paid a monthly income of $5 million by subsidiary CLICO.

In addition his yearly income, Duprey was also paid multi-million-dollar consultancy fees throughout the year, Bisnath, CLICO's attorney, said. This totalled $90 million a year, he added.

The payments to Duprey were made to his consultancy firm Dalco Capital Management.

The funds paid to Duprey were withdrawn from the "cash cow" of the CL Financial conglomerate, CLICO, Bisnath said.

"Basically CLF billed CLICO on a monthly basis for consultancy services which CLICO then paid to CLF and that was then paid to Dalco $5 million a month, which was Mr Duprey's pay from CLICO," Bisnath said.

Bisnath made the statements as he cross-examined Michael Carballo, the former group financial director of CL Financial, during the commission of enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial and the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) at the Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port of Spain, yesterday.

Bisnath said CLICO's cash stream was also used to fund investments made by CL Financial.

"Is it true to say that from what we have seen CLICO was really used as a cash cow in the group?" Bisnath asked Carballo.

"Yes, because CLICO was really the one that had the cash flowing in it," Carballo said.

"And that cash that was flowing happened to be policyholders' money and Mr Duprey and CL were using CLICO policyholders' monies without regard to the risk that it was putting those policyholders under," Bisnath said.

Bisnath described Duprey as a "great investor of other people's money".

He said CLICO invested US$445 million of policyholders' money in a Florida real estate project called Capri, while the investment was worth only US$200 million.

"We know in taking on risks he (Duprey) used policyholders' money, not his personal money; and when you use OPM, other people's money, you can have all kind of fancy dreams and you can make all kind of fancy investments because if you lose it, it is not your money you are losing," Bisnath said.

"He (Duprey) could therefore have a bold and aggressive attitude toward business, and an insatiable risk appetite because it was not his money he was using," Bisnath said.

Bisnath said Duprey's downfall was the lack of proper advisers around him.

"He was a great investor of other people's money, but his downfall was the quality of the advisers around him," Bisnath said.

Bisnath said Duprey had no regard for policyholders.

"Lawrence Duprey ran this entire group like his personal kingdom, that is what was happening in effect," Bisnath said. "Basically, it was a one-man show and Mr Duprey did it all," he said.

"My concern from the CLICO perspective is that all these investments were funded by policyholders' money without fiduciary duty, without regard for risk and without regard for the fact that policyholders could suffer tremendously," Bisnath said.

Earlier in the proceedings, Terrence Bharath, an attorney for the CLICO Policyholders Group, questioned who was reining in Duprey's spending after a series of billion-dollar losses in investments on foreign shores.

"Who was controlling Mr Duprey?" Bharath asked Carballo.

Carballo chuckled.

"It may sound comical, but he was losing billions of dollars in investments around the world and yet still he was accountable to no one?" Bharath asked.

"Presumably his family in terms of the trust would give him certain approvals and latitude to make certain decisions, and I would say a lot of the other shareholders, my observation is, placed a lot of faith in Lawrence (Duprey).

"Some of them saw that he had made good decisions in the past and some of them were just hoping that Lawrence would have the Midas touch," Carballo said.

The commission of enquiry is scheduled to continue today, with Carballo being cross-examined by Fyard Hosein, the attorney representing the Ministry of Finance.

GITA PAID HERSELF $30m
Former CL director tells of strange commissions, huge bonuses
By by Joel Julien

STRANGE commissions, exorbitant bonuses and significant weaknesses in internal controls were the order of the day at CL Financial, former group financial director, Michael Carballo, said yesterday.

Carballo made the statement as he gave evidence for the second day at the Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial and the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) at the Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port of Spain, yesterday.

"There were some weaknesses in internal controls, significant weaknesses in internal controls at CL Financial," Carballo said .

"There were significant problems in terms of what we call proper segregation of duties, whereby the payee and the person approving the payment voucher under proper standards are supposed to be separate so you are supposed to have a segregation of duties so you do not have one paying themselves and this was highlighted when CL Financial had what it called a corporate oversight team," he said.

"People were preparing vouchers and paying themselves, it is hard to control situations like this whereby we have Gita Sakal controlling all banking arrangements and paying herself," Carballo said.

Sakal was the corporate secretary of CL Financial.

Carballo said a debit of US$5 million was made from CL Financial's US dollar account at Royal Bank to pay Sakal's consultancy firm, Corporate Consultants Ltd.

Sakal signed both the invoice and the bank instructions to have the funds debited, Carballo said.

CL chairman Lawrence Duprey was unaware of the US$5 million (TT$32.5m) payment to Sakal and ordered that the money be "immediately returned", Carballo said.

Sakal was paid a US$35,000 monthly salary and was entitled to a US$ 2 million annual bonus, Carballo said.

Carballo said his immediate predecessor, Andre Monteil, also sought a US$2 million consultancy fee and $194 million in commissions to help CL Financial out of its financial troubles.

CL Financial's board of directors was "outraged" that Monteil would seek such "exorbitant fee on the heels of the CL Financial seeking liquidity", Carballo said.

Carballo also told the Commission of "strange" commissions being paid during the investment in real estate projects in Florida.

Carballo said a broker named Charles Pratt told him that he was paid US$85 million on the US$300 Green Island Project.

Carballo also questioned the project management of some of the real estate projects in Florida.

"It was only after I moved to CL Financial I realised how these projects were managed, it was via an entity called DYL," Carballo said.

Carballo said DYL is an acronym for the surnames of Lawrence Duprey, John Yanopoulos and Geoffrey Leid.

"And again I wonder what is Geoffrey Leid's involvement in this especially at a time when Geoffrey Leid is a director and company secretary of an insurance company called CLICO," Carballo said.

"To my knowledge you cannot be a director and company secretary at CLICO and sneak in behind the scenes and generate significant fees on projects whereby the exact funding is coming from the same organisation that you are a director of. DYL is being funded by CLICO," he said.

Carballo is scheduled to take the witness stand today where he will be cross-examined by attorney Terrence Bharath who is representing the CLICO Policyholders Group.


SIGNED INVOICE: Gita Sakal, former corporate secretary of CL Financial


RISK TAKER: Lawrence Duprey

[Brownsugar]

Mouth open, story jumping out!!!!

[zuluwarrior]

I was Listening to Morgan Job this morning  he was saying when he was in Parliament, Ramesh Lawrence Maraj told him about this scheme that was taking place in Clico .

He also said UNC and PNM Ministers are involve ,Ministers from the present Government is in this ripoff also , you know what is bad about it noting will happen to the guilty GANG of thieves in high places .

WE KNOW WE LIKE IT SO WE FREE     

[Football supporter]

I've been watching this every night. I cannot believe this was allowed to happen. Nothing was covered up. It seems when Carballo raised objections to some of Dupreys projects, Duprey just sourced funding from other CLICO funds.

Where were the checks and balances from Govt? These deals were possibly illegal as allegedly policyholders funds were being misappropriated. This enquiry is costing a fortune and I hope that at the end, criminal charges will be laid at the feet of those responsible and assets seized to repay policyholders.

One particular deal saw the group acquire Belvedere, the worlds largest vodka producer at a  cost of 300 million euros to purchase 68% of the company. However, the deal gave CLICO no control as the existing shareholders and directors retained control. CLICO had to sell the company at a loss within months.

[Dutty]

Where were the checks and balances from Govt? These deals were possibly illegal as allegedly policyholders funds were being misappropriated. This enquiry is costing a fortune and I hope that at the end, criminal charges will be laid at the feet of those responsible and assets seized to repay policyholders.

doh hol yuh breath breds...every tin pot 'leader' in power day does be padna with 'businessmen'...is 2 degrees of separation in T&T the higher up the ladder yuh go

Unfortunately T&T need a political leader with so much of his own money that he cant be swayed one way or the other...kinda like bloomberg in NY

even when we had a drug dealer for a police commissioner, crime was around but violent crime was minimal

[diamondtrim]

So Duprey, Sakal, Monteil & Co take money and like deyself................it wrong, it bad, shameful, sad, greedy, call it whatever is d best/worst adjective yuh could find.

Dey all operated within the parameters they were allowed. If d Central Bank guided by d big goat Ewart Williams and d Supervisor of Insurance refuse to check Clico, CLF and whoever else, den Duprey and he team shoulda take ALL d damn money!

If I wukkin in a company dat allowin me to approve payments to myself without secondary questionin...i takin more dan 30m. I takin all. It could have commission of inquiry from here to Timbuktu....we all know nutttin comin out of it. D only 'crime' dese ppl could be charged wit is greed and wickedness.....and d kinda money den gone wit makin it easy to live wit dem tags.

CL aint collapse overnight....when folks was reading how Duplrey makin all kinda fancy deal dey wasnt concerned with how he acquirin d funds to do it...nah...dey greedy too....so dey invest more and more in CL hopin to get piece of d pie. Dey wanna put in 1m to get back 1.5 and so on. Investors was greedy too....jus dat Duprey was smarter dan all ah dem

Dais y ah like Jack Warner and dem.....in trinidad d name of d game is greediest win. And jack and Duprey and dem is d greediest bitches in d world...dat is no exaggeration. So congrats to dem and all d greedy investors hull allyuh tail....allyuh loss d game.....yuh cyah be a greedy fish and wanna jump in a pond wit greedier shark

[Deeks]

Allyuh see why Jabloteh and JP "sufferring" now.

[Brownsugar]

Dey all operated within the parameters they were allowed. If d Central Bank guided by d big goat Ewart Williams and d Supervisor of Insurance refuse to check Clico, CLF and whoever else, den Duprey and he team shoulda take ALL d damn money!


CL aint collapse overnight...

Another "big goat" before Ewart Williams was..........*drum roll*

Winston Dookeran.......

[weary1969]

Dey all operated within the parameters they were allowed. If d Central Bank guided by d big goat Ewart Williams and d Supervisor of Insurance refuse to check Clico, CLF and whoever else, den Duprey and he team shoulda take ALL d damn money!


CL aint collapse overnight...

Another "big goat" before Ewart Williams was..........*drum roll*

Winston Dookeran.......

 

[Football supporter]

So Duprey, Sakal, Monteil & Co take money and like deyself................it wrong, it bad, shameful, sad, greedy, call it whatever is d best/worst adjective yuh could find.

Dey all operated within the parameters they were allowed. If d Central Bank guided by d big goat Ewart Williams and d Supervisor of Insurance refuse to check Clico, CLF and whoever else, den Duprey and he team shoulda take ALL d damn money!

If I wukkin in a company dat allowin me to approve payments to myself without secondary questionin...i takin more dan 30m. I takin all. It could have commission of inquiry from here to Timbuktu....we all know nutttin comin out of it. D only 'crime' dese ppl could be charged wit is greed and wickedness.....and d kinda money den gone wit makin it easy to live wit dem tags.

CL aint collapse overnight....when folks was reading how Duplrey makin all kinda fancy deal dey wasnt concerned with how he acquirin d funds to do it...nah...dey greedy too....so dey invest more and more in CL hopin to get piece of d pie. Dey wanna put in 1m to get back 1.5 and so on. Investors was greedy too....jus dat Duprey was smarter dan all ah dem

Dais y ah like Jack Warner and dem.....in trinidad d name of d game is greediest win. And jack and Duprey and dem is d greediest bitches in d world...dat is no exaggeration. So congrats to dem and all d greedy investors hull allyuh tail....allyuh loss d game.....yuh cyah be a greedy fish and wanna jump in a pond wit greedier shark

1. It is the role of a company's directors to protect the interests of the policyholders. The board is there to ensure this is done. If, as in this case, bad decisions were being made, without due diligence and increasing the risk to policyholders without any protection in place, then the entire board may be sued by policyholders.
2. If a company's board has been deemed to put the interests of directors before the interests of policyholders, those directors can be investigated and prosecuted. The directors have a legal responsibility to put the interests of shareholders and policyholders before their personal interests.
3. Directors who knowingly withold information that could effect decisions from board members and policyholders are infringing several company and financial laws.
4. Directors, company secretary's and financial officers who issue payments to themselves without authority or good reason are not necessarily acting outside a companys rules. However, shareholders and policyholders have the right to question these payments and make redress via civil courts.
5. Although many of the incidents may not have broken specific laws, the failure of senior executives to install efficient checks and balances, to prevent via board voting certain rash decisions, to fail to advise authorities, shareholders and policyholders of their concerns can mean they can be guilty of negligence, particularly with regards to financial transactions.
6. I'm not sure of the laws here, but I'm damn sure that the outcome of this enquiry will be recommendations from Sir Anthony Coleman to the DPP inviting criminal charges to be made.
7. Once the Central Bank put in place an investment committee, things should have steadied, but it appears that directors either lied, misled or ignored its recommendations.

[rotatopoti3]

i cant believe this iz d same Martin Daly dat does try tuh preach "Little House and d Prairie Gospel"....

[Brownsugar]

Legislation was passed in the House last week or the week before that has something to do with this matter.  Something about not being able to sue a financial institution etc. etc.  Ah keep forgetting to dig up more on it.  I remember the policyholders group being upset about it when it was first proposed late last year and the government shelved it saying they wouldn' t bring back to the table but apparently they changed their minds.....

When ah have the time I'll check it out....

[Football supporter]

DiamondTrim, I'm interested in this comment you made "Dais y ah like Jack Warner and dem.....in trinidad d name of d game is greediest win. And jack and Duprey and dem is d greediest bitches in d world...dat is no exaggeration. So congrats to dem and all d greedy investors hull allyuh tail....allyuh loss d game.....yuh cyah be a greedy fish and wanna jump in a pond wit greedier shark"

I don't know if you don't understand mutual funds, group policies, endowments etc or if you're just ignorant and talking shit. If you're referring to individual investors who were acquaintances of Duprey et al, then I would agree. When you invest, you take a risk, but if that risk is based upon incorrect information, that is still not right. If a company is predicting profits of a certain level, that company should have solid research to show why it is predicting that growth. A company can't just say "we think we're gonna make 20% on this deal", it has to show how it arrived at that figure, i.e. past performance, future growth potential, market analysis etc. Then, it is the investors decision whether to take the risk.

With people investing in mutual funds, such as savings plans and endowments, these are not greedy people. They may only be investing $100 p.m. to build a little nestegg for retirement. If you, DiamondTrim, are not saving for retirement, you are uniquly stupid. If you, DiamondTrim, do not possess a bank account, you are a neandethal. If you are not part of a group pension or health plan, you should take out personal plans for your protection. But if you are doing any of these things, you are then, according to your statement, also "a greedy fish and wanna jump in a pond wit greedier shark"

As for your pride in the ability of Trinis to financially rape and plunder innocent people, government and financial institutions, the sooner you pass away, the better. This saga needs to be the turning point where these powerful dictators are no longer allowed to act without oversight. Many laws need to be tightened and power devolved. It was said that CL Financial directors didn't agree with Duprey, but would not vote against him as he controlled their bonuses. That cannot be allowed to continue. Those directors are just as culpable as Duprey, as they put their interests before the people they swore to protect...the policyholders.

As for Mr Warner....lets see how you feel about him after Weds 28th September.

[diamondtrim]

Football Supporter.....your response betrays that which you so quickly attempted to impose upon me.....a complete and utter lack of comprehension. Further to that, you seem to possess an innate tendency to misconstrue the context of postings. Nevertheless, I will attempt to elude your obvious ignorance and seek to populate your mind with the explanation that so obviously sailed over a shallow mind.

Mutual funds, savings plans, endowments etc are all symptomatic of greed. Perhaps it is here that I lost you. Greed is good, for it is this greed which allows us to provide for our families and futures. If you Football Supporter, do not understand this, then not only are you below the intellectual poverty line, but you also suffer from an ailment that knows no cure - indefatigable idiocy. The problem arises when individuals become so greedy that mutual funds et al no longer satisfy them and they actively seek increased revenues by whatever means they see fit.

My feelings for JW are well known and I hide behind them not. We live in a capitalist society where greed is the name of the game and those who are better equipped to handle,and manipulate it are the victors. Like it or not, immorality is not a crime. Seedy business deals is not a crime. Corporate advantage is not a crime. Paying oneself, as long as one is empowered to do so is not a crime. What it is, however, is a shame. A blatant lack of respect and consideration for investors. How will you suggest one be punished for such indiscretions? Only morals can guide or lead to retribution. Clearly, the heads of CL do not have morals. As does JW. And I applaud them wholeheartedly.

I myself had funds invested in CLICO...not a significant amount by any means mind you, but enough to prompt a withdrawal of same funds upon hearing of the numerous acquistions by the CL Financial Group. Acquistions that due diligence on the part of any investor would have led to the more than credible hypothesis that so many ventures in such a short space of time would have been a strain on the liquid resources of CLF and as such would have made payments to investors upon maturity dates a bit difficult.


Your assertion that "A company can't just say "we think we're gonna make 20% on this deal", it has to show how it arrived at that figure  etc" is not entirely accurate and again reveals your limited understanding of such endeavours. For that I fault you not. A prospectus  shows past performance and future projected performance. It by no means guarantees any of the figures that are illustrated. Investore rarely, if at all, ask to see how and where funds were invested in years prior. If you Football Supporter, are a shreholder at a bank or credit union, do you question the validity of the published annual reports of the banks? Do you, Football Supporter question the accuracy of your credit union dividend cheque? Of course if an institution has been accurate in its projections over a specific period, it is easy to buy into the notion that they would perform similarly in the future.

I take pride in not only Trinis, but anyone's ability to ride the proverbial jackass until its dead.

[elan]

Football Supporter.....your response betrays that which you so quickly attempted to impose upon me.....a complete and utter lack of comprehension. Further to that, you seem to possess an innate tendency to misconstrue the context of postings. Nevertheless, I will attempt to elude your obvious ignorance and seek to populate your mind with the explanation that so obviously sailed over a shallow mind.

Mutual funds, savings plans, endowments etc are all symptomatic of greed. Perhaps it is here that I lost you. Greed is good, for it is this greed which allows us to provide for our families and futures. If you Football Supporter, do not understand this, then not only are you below the intellectual poverty line, but you also suffer from an ailment that knows no cure - indefatigable idiocy. The problem arises when individuals become so greedy that mutual funds et al no longer satisfy them and they actively seek increased revenues by whatever means they see fit.

My feelings for JW are well known and I hide behind them not. We live in a capitalist society where greed is the name of the game and those who are better equipped to handle,and manipulate it are the victors. Like it or not, immorality is not a crime. Seedy business deals is not a crime. Corporate advantage is not a crime. Paying oneself, as long as one is empowered to do so is not a crime. What it is, however, is a shame. A blatant lack of respect and consideration for investors. How will you suggest one be punished for such indiscretions? Only morals can guide or lead to retribution. Clearly, the heads of CL do not have morals. As does JW. And I applaud them wholeheartedly.

I myself had funds invested in CLICO...not a significant amount by any means mind you, but enough to prompt a withdrawal of same funds upon hearing of the numerous acquistions by the CL Financial Group. Acquistions that due diligence on the part of any investor would have led to the more than credible hypothesis that so many ventures in such a short space of time would have been a strain on the liquid resources of CLF and as such would have made payments to investors upon maturity dates a bit difficult.


Your assertion that "A company can't just say "we think we're gonna make 20% on this deal", it has to show how it arrived at that figure  etc" is not entirely accurate and again reveals your limited understanding of such endeavours. For that I fault you not. A prospectus  shows past performance and future projected performance. It by no means guarantees any of the figures that are illustrated. Investore rarely, if at all, ask to see how and where funds were invested in years prior. If you Football Supporter, are a shreholder at a bank or credit union, do you question the validity of the published annual reports of the banks? Do you, Football Supporter question the accuracy of your credit union dividend cheque? Of course if an institution has been accurate in its projections over a specific period, it is easy to buy into the notion that they would perform similarly in the future.

I take pride in not only Trinis, but anyone's ability to ride the proverbial jackass until its dead.

Hope I am not misconstrued, but that is ah pack ah f@#king      

Whatever community, teaching, or upbringing you get that from is totally and unequivocally  

[diamondtrim]

[/quote]

Hope I am not misconstrued, but that is ah pack ah f@#king      

Whatever community, teaching, or upbringing you get that from is totally and unequivocally  
[/quote]

Hiding from that which is fact does not remove it from its permanent virtue.

[Football supporter]

DiamondTrim, my son, you are a complete moron.
You spout quotes from 80's movies like its supposed to be fact not an indictment on the corporate attitudes that nearly caused a global financial collapse. Greed is never good, not even for the individual acting on that greed. It is a self destroying attitude. Maybe one or two people of the Duprey ilk get away with it, most do not because their greed demands that they always go for one more deal. Lets look at some examples...Calder Hart, Jack Warner, bin Hamaan. All got a bloody nose, and of course theres many more.

This sentence exposes your spectacularly uniformed knowledge of financial products. "Mutual funds, savings plans, endowments etc are all symptomatic of greed"  Mutual funds, savings plans, endowments are pooled investments designed to offer low risk access to investment products. They are managed to produce low level growth over long periods without exposing investors to adverse risk. Generally they are invested in Fortune 500 companies or FTSE 100 companies.

Investing in BRIC funds (Brazil, Russia, India & China) may be more risky, but growth potentials are higher, yet there are still fund managers who manage these funds according to the risk profile laid out in advance.

Futures trading is the highest risk as you are literally gambling on an outcome.

Greed may be achieved by investing in individual shares via stockbrokers in start up companies or depositing in venture capital opportunities.

This statement demonstrates your total lack of understanding in the CLICO crisis. "Acquisitions that due diligence on the part of any investor would have led to the more than credible hypothesis that so many ventures in such a short space of time would have been a strain on the liquid resources of CLF and as such would have made payments to investors upon maturity dates a bit difficult."

Basically, CLICO money was not supposed to be used to prop up CLF etc. The directors have a direct mandate to protect the interests of policyholders. Mutual funds are, by nature, low risk and should not have been used to repay debts of failing companies. If you have a pension with CLICO through your employer, you cannot just withdraw your funds. You can raise concerns with the company pension manager. If he is fed bullshit by CLICO, he will pass that on to you. If he feels he should move the fund from CLICO, this process could take 12 months or more.

Your assertion that "A company can't just say "we think we're gonna make 20% on this deal", it has to show how it arrived at that figure  etc" is not entirely accurate and again reveals your limited understanding of such endeavours.

Actually, this statement is accurate. A company does have to show how it reached those figures. What it can't show is that once the investment is funded, is that it doesn't adhere to its pre announced investment strategy. I can see you are struggling with this DT, so heres an example.

I say to you I am going to invest in banks in the FTSE 100. Over 10 years you may receive growth of 4% per annum compound based on past performance. Our fund manager will move funds from banks with an asset ratio below 30%. This is fairly specific, yes? However, I take your money and invest in start up banks, sub prime lenders, banks in unstable countries. I lose your money. You see your yearly statement and its too late. Most people do not look at financial press so aren't aware...remember, they have a written contract stating their risk exposure.

DiamondTrim, you are a very dangerous poster as you clearly have little or no understanding of financial legislation or products and paint an entirely false and immature appraisal of the situation, mixed with abuse and vitriol. I, on the other hand, am a qualified financial adviser who has dealt in multi million pound investments. You cannot just make rash observations based on Michael Douglas films.
The failure with CLICO is a failure of the financial services legislation, governance and procedure here in Trinidad. There was undoubtedly greed at play and a despicable lack of respect of policyholders. I like Michael Carballo, but he didn't have the balls to go against Duprey. He should have written a report to the financial regulators and resigned. Unfortunately, his testimony reeks of the old Nazi attitude: "I wasn't in charge and they made me do it" He was supposed to protect the uninformed investors and work for their benefit, but he didn't.

The best outcome from this is a thorough reworking of financial checks and balances together with strong sentencing for those who act illegally or immorally.

"Paying oneself, as long as one is empowered to do so is not a crime" Actually, it kinda is. No director or executive should legally be empowered to pay themselves. All payments, including expenses, have to be signed off by a line manager or company secretary. In the Case of a company secretary, payments to themselves have to be approved by a director or chairman. These payments should then be justified at either a board meeting or a shareholders meeting and included in audited accounts. Without the above, these payments are classed as misappropriated funds, larceny or even theft.

[ribbit]

FS, how you could write all that given what is known today about de financial crisis over the last few years, the ponzi scheme known as "securitization" and de incentive structures for CEOs of financial corporations? you are out of date hoss.

[Bakes]

Where were the checks and balances from Govt?

Are we just tossing around terms here... what 'checks and balances'?  Outside of the corporate laws of TnT government cannot get involved in the corporate affairs of private entities.

1. It is the role of a company's directors to protect the interests of the policyholders. The board is there to ensure this is done. If, as in this case, bad decisions were being made, without due diligence and increasing the risk to policyholders without any protection in place, then the entire board may be sued by policyholders.
2. If a company's board has been deemed to put the interests of directors before the interests of policyholders, those directors can be investigated and prosecuted. The directors have a legal responsibility to put the interests of shareholders and policyholders before their personal interests.
3. Directors who knowingly withold information that could effect decisions from board members and policyholders are infringing several company and financial laws.
4. Directors, company secretary's and financial officers who issue payments to themselves without authority or good reason are not necessarily acting outside a companys rules. However, shareholders and policyholders have the right to question these payments and make redress via civil courts.
5. Although many of the incidents may not have broken specific laws, the failure of senior executives to install efficient checks and balances, to prevent via board voting certain rash decisions, to fail to advise authorities, shareholders and policyholders of their concerns can mean they can be guilty of negligence, particularly with regards to financial transactions.
6. I'm not sure of the laws here, but I'm damn sure that the outcome of this enquiry will be recommendations from Sir Anthony Coleman to the DPP inviting criminal charges to be made.
7. Once the Central Bank put in place an investment committee, things should have steadied, but it appears that directors either lied, misled or ignored its recommendations.

4. This sort of action (self-dealing, conflict of interest) should be prohibited by the company's bylaws... which are subject to and typically reflective of the corporate laws.

5. It is the board's responsibility to craft such protections, not 'senior executives'.  Their responsibility is management, not governance... = board function.  'Negligence' has a specific meaning in law, and is limited to tort actions, not corporate activity.  What you're referring to is likely a breach of fiduciary responsibility more than anything.  Other than that... I think you're on the right track with everything else.