Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh has written to the acting commissioner of police asking James Philbert to conduct an investigation into the possible breach of the Prevention of Corruption Act by Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira, Attorney General Bridgette Annisette-George, Minister of Agriculture Arnold Piggott and the Public Officials of Estate Management Business Development Co Ltd (EMBD).The letter, dated April 9, 2009, is copied to Senior Superintendant Harold Phillip, who is charge of the Fraud Squad. It is asking the police to investigate and determine whether any criminal acts were committed "and to take the appropriate prosecutorial action where persons have breached the law".
Related story: Gopeesingh asks PM to probe bribery allegations
Gopeesingh claims that all those named in his letter "conducted themselves in a manner which violates the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chap. 11.11, and are therefore subject to criminal prosecution."
The Caroni East MP noted that in a letter dated July 31 2008, the Managing Director of the engineering firm Sunco Engineering Services Co Ltd, wrote to Manning complaining that a senior EMBD official asked for a bribe in exchange for payment of monies owed to the company.
"Once again, we hereby seek your assistance on the above for monies due and owing to Sunco Engineering Services Ltd for works executed on the project in accordance with the conditions of the contract in excess of $5m combined," Sunco said in the letter to Manning, which Gopeesingh attached in his correspondence to the police chief.
Gopeesingh said the letters highlight "a very disturbing scenario, which is the blatant, unwarranted refusal by a State-owned company...to pay a private contractor monies amounting to over eight million dollars for works already carried out on the projects regarding the distribution of Caroni Lands for ex workers."
He pointed out that the contractor complained in vain to Agriculture Minister Arnold Piggott and Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira before making a direct complaint to Manning.
According to Gopeesingh the Prime Minister wrote to the contractor more than a year ago saying he had referred the complaint to the Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne.
"To date, over 580 days into the complaint, the contractor has still not been paid and has resorted to legal action against the EMBD in an effort to retrieve the money duly owed to the company," Gopeesingh said.
He added that he has been informed that Manning met with the contractor at his San Fernando East constituency office on March 2nd, 2009, but that Manning gave no assurances that he has taken any real action regarding the complaint.
The MP claimed that the EMBD official in question is "said to be a close, personal friend of the Prime Minister" and charged that the failure to take action by Manning and other members of cabinet amounts to dereliction of duty.
"Under the law, the Prime Minister is duty bound to commission an investigation into this allegation, and indeed, in the past, he has referred similar matters to the Integrity Commission, namely, the Dansam Dhansook corruption/bribery allegation against former Ministers of Works and Transport and Energy, Franklin Khan and Eric Williams respectively, upon which criminal charges were laid," Gopeesingh observed.
"In these circumstances I wish to request formally and officially that your office launch an investigation into Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira, the Honourable Attorney General, Bridgette Annisette George and Arnold Piggott, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, to specifically determine whether, by their failure to act upon the complaint of bribery as indicated in the letter from Sunco Engineering they misconducted themselves," Gopeesingh's letter said.
He said he is of the view that there is reasonable cause to believe that Manning and the others named may have committed an offence under the Prevention of Corruption of Act such as to warrant a full police investigation.
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