No Clico money this year, $75,000 payout expected in January

A report in the Newsday newspaper Wednesday said Attorney General Anand Ramlogan confirmed on Tuesday that no Clico payouts would be made before the end of the year.

It said Ramlogan also announced that the Trinidad and Tobago government has retained British Queen’s Counsel Gabriel Moss to advise on the matter. Moss, who is an expert on insolvency, has functioned as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Chancery Division of the United Kingdom’s High Court.

Ramlogan with officials of the Ministry of Finance and Clico's parent company, CL Financial Limited Monday to examine the terms and conditions of an agreement which policyholders will sign if they agree to the State’s bailout. The offer is $75,000 for policies equal to or below that amount, and a 20-year bond for policies worth more than $75,000 with no interest.

Another meeting will be held after Christmas to finalise the agreements and payment of the money will likely begin in the first week of January. Newsday quoted one unnamed official as saying, “a payout is not too far off.”