Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard is conducting his own probe in the matter and seeking the advice of a Queen's Counsel.
On Wednesday Attorney General Anand Ramlogan directed that all files relating to the probe into the collapse of CLICO be forwarded to Gaspard to determine if criminal charges should be laid against the former CL Financial executives.
He told the Express newspaper, "I have directed that all information acquired as a result of the probe conducted for these civil cases be shared with the DPP in the hope that it may be of some assistance. The government has no control for criminal prosecution, that is a matter for the DPP based on evidence unearthed by proper police investigations."
The AG disclosed that more lawsuits were to come in this matter and other scandals that have become the centre of national attention. "We intend to pursue a number of high profile scandals that rocked the last administration. More will be said about this in the coming months," he said.
"The case will raise the propriety of various property transactions and energy transactions and the sale to Monteil's Stone Street of seven million HMB (Home Mortgage Bank) shares which had been the subject of much public controversy," he said.
He said that fraud expert John Powell QC together with Leigh Ann Mulcahy will lead a team of five lawyers on behalf of the Central Bank.
"It is the first of what shall be a series of actions to be filed in the CLICO fiasco. Any and or all allegations of wrongdoing shall be put before the court to determine whether the evidence warrants judicial intervention and remedy," said Ramlogan.
"The government intends to vigorously assert its rights in this matter in the public interest so that any allegation of wrongdoing and misconduct can be properly ventilated," he added.
Duprey and Monteil are facing charges of misuse of millions of dollars of investments of policyholders and investors and of threatening the stability of the country’s economy.
Both men have been accused of mismanagement of CLICO, misapplication and misappropriation of the company's income and assets to the detriment of its policyholders and mutual fund investors.
The Central Bank and the Manning PNM government took control of the CL conglomerate and its banking and insurance subsidiaries in January 2009 after Duprey sought help when CLICO and CIB’s liquidity problems were made public.
At that time CL Financial controlled over $100 billion of assets in at least 72 companies in 32 countries. Its financial interests included banking and financial services, energy, real estate, manufacturing and distribution.
The Manning government amended the Central Bank Act and the Insurance Act to give the CBTT additional powers to deal with Clico’s problems.
The AG disclosed that more lawsuits were to come in this matter and other scandals that have become the centre of national attention. "We intend to pursue a number of high profile scandals that rocked the last administration. More will be said about this in the coming months," he said.
"The case will raise the propriety of various property transactions and energy transactions and the sale to Monteil's Stone Street of seven million HMB (Home Mortgage Bank) shares which had been the subject of much public controversy," he said.
He said that fraud expert John Powell QC together with Leigh Ann Mulcahy will lead a team of five lawyers on behalf of the Central Bank.
"It is the first of what shall be a series of actions to be filed in the CLICO fiasco. Any and or all allegations of wrongdoing shall be put before the court to determine whether the evidence warrants judicial intervention and remedy," said Ramlogan.
"The government intends to vigorously assert its rights in this matter in the public interest so that any allegation of wrongdoing and misconduct can be properly ventilated," he added.
Duprey and Monteil are facing charges of misuse of millions of dollars of investments of policyholders and investors and of threatening the stability of the country’s economy.
Both men have been accused of mismanagement of CLICO, misapplication and misappropriation of the company's income and assets to the detriment of its policyholders and mutual fund investors.
The Central Bank and the Manning PNM government took control of the CL conglomerate and its banking and insurance subsidiaries in January 2009 after Duprey sought help when CLICO and CIB’s liquidity problems were made public.
At that time CL Financial controlled over $100 billion of assets in at least 72 companies in 32 countries. Its financial interests included banking and financial services, energy, real estate, manufacturing and distribution.
The Manning government amended the Central Bank Act and the Insurance Act to give the CBTT additional powers to deal with Clico’s problems.
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