Rowleys demand that AG clear their names in Cayman bank account matter

The Rowleys aren't giving up on trying to clear their name with regard to a bank account in the Cayman Islands.

Sharon Clark-Rowley, wife of Dr Keith Rowley, is asking Attorney General John Jeremie to take the necessary steps to clear her name.

She has written Jeremie asking him to relase the information that Alexandria Bancorp Ltd provided to him in order to clear her of any suspicion that she has money in the Cayman Island jurisdiction.

According to a report in the Trinidad Express Mrs Rowley told Jeremie the circulation of a document alleging that she and her husband had bank accounts in the Cayman Islands is "clearly the act of a malicious individual or individuals, determined to destroy my good reputation and that of my husband".

Jeremie had apparently planned to make a statement to Parliament last Friday that would have cleared up the matter according to a draft of a speech sent to the Trinidad Guardian.

The Express report suggests that the bank was also of that opinion.

It quoted correspondence to a lawyer representing the Rowleys: "I understand that earlier today (Friday) the Attorney General for Trinidad made a public announcement advising that his office had fully investigated the allegations and determined that they were a complete fabrication. I hope that this brings vindication to your clients."

Jeremie never made the statement in Parliament but in a media release on Saturday he stated that "despite strenuous attempts through the official channels to investigate the veracity of reports of Cayman Islands accounts, the Ministry of the Attorney General is still not yet in receipt of any definitive, official information required to make a statement on this issue".

That seems to contradict what the bank told the Rowleys.

The Express report said the bank seemed reluctant to provide specific details to the lawyer for the Rowleys, stating in a letter that "given the particularly public nature of the allegations, we are sensitive to your interest in answering these charges. I am prepared in this context to disclose to you that we have made representations to the Ministry of the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago."

The Express quoted fro Mrs Rowley's letter to the Attorney General stated: "Having regard to the very serious nature of these patently false allegations, contact has been made with Alexandria Bancorp and information has been provided that there is no such account at this bank in my name.

"I hereby request that you advise me of the response of Alexandria Bancorp, in so far as it relates to the alleged bank accounts or, in the alternative, that you make public the content of such response."

The paper quoted Keith Rowley as saying that the Attorney General created the problem and should reveal to the public that it was indeed a hoax.

"They are now having difficulty admitting that it was all a hoax. But on close examination, one doesn’t have to look very far to see the origin of the hoax," the former cabinet minister told the paper.