Abu Bakr's wife, son buy 2 properties in state auction

The Trinidad and Tobago government on Tuesday sold nine of Abu Bakr's 11 properties for just over $5 million, well short of the $40 million which the State was seeking.

Bakr’s son, Ayinde bought one property located at Queen’s Park East. One of Bakr's wives, Indrani Maharaj, bought one of the properties located at Dibe, Long Circular. She paid $1.3 million. And attorney Anthony Cherry brought the property at Maharaj Lands, Marabella, for $1.6 million.

Lands at Guayagayare went for $72,000 and a Las Cuevas house and land sold for $380,000. The State did not offer for sale the Diego Martin property where Bakr lives.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago was trying to recover a multi-million debt owing by Bakr for destruction of state property during the 1990 failed coup that Bakr led.

Bakr had claimed that the auction was illegal since he had settled his debt to the state through a arrangement with former Prime Minister Patrick Manning in the form of a deal.

In an affidavit he had claimed that he and Manning had an agreement for Bakr to help manning and the PNM win the 2002 general election by recruiting young people to vote for the party and through a reduction in crime. In return, he said Manning agreed to forgive the debt.

However while Manning has acknowledged that he had meetings with Bakr he never admitted any complicity in such an arrangement.

The Privy Council stated last year that if such an arrangement had in fact been made between the two men that would be considered corrupt under the country's anti-corruption laws.

Although a judge approved the sale of Bakr's lands, Manning refused to sell any of the properties.