Harry Harinarine told the HCU Depositors and Creditors Group (HCUDSG) Friday lawyers for the liquidator for the HCU group have asked him to retake control of the HCU group of companies. And auditors says assets are valued less that originally estimated.He spoke at a meeting of the newly-formed group at Gaston Courts, Lange Park, Chaguanas.
Harnarine explained that the ex parte injunction tha closed the HCU gave the liquidator control only of the HCU Credit Union Society and not HCU Financial, which he said is a separate entity.
This has been confirmed by D.Rampersad who explained that his company is required to continue as provisional liquidator pending the completion by the audit by Ernst and Young.
He said he has to appear before the High Court judge on August 11 at which time Justice Nolan Bereaux might end his assignment.
Harnarine said he is waiting for the judge to decide that matter first and that he wanted a reassessment of the assets of HCU Financial before taking back control. He said his lawyers will meet with the provisional liquidator and his lawyers on Monday.
A preliminary report by the auditors, which was completed last month, has estimated the HCU assets at $545 million, not the $817 million that the organization has said is the value of its holdings.
The liabilities exceed that and stand at $716 million. Based on that Ernst and Young estimates that at best, a depositor can expect 72 cents on the dollar.
That means an investment of $1,000 would return only $720 dollars. And that includes interest.
The HCDSG believes that since this is "the least value" there is a chance that depositors can get more. By a show of hands the members of the group attending the meeting agreed that they believe the assets are undervalued.
They noted that the assets belong to all members and shareholders of the HCU and the group suggested that since they are the true owners of the assets they are entitled to a second opinion to determine whether the assets are valued correctly.
In that regard the meeting agreed to hire an independent valuator and, if necessary, an attorney to provide legal advice.
The group also voted for the reopening of all HCU offices and HCU subsidiaries for normal business as soon as possible to collect outstanding payments owed to the HCU and its companies in order to maximize the group's overall assets.
The HCUDSG also asked the provisional liquidator to allow it to use the HCU radio stations to provide information about what was happening. But the liquidators referred the group to Hansly Ajodha, the head of HCU Communications Limited, which operates Radio Shakti 97.5fm and Massala Radio 101.1fm.
Massala is wholly owned by the HCU but Shakti operates its service on a leased-signal basis from the owners of the radio licence, Upward Trend Entertainment Limited.
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