Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has weighed in with his opinion how the Michael Carrington matter must be resolved. He has suggested the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Association apply its Code of Ethics to censure the Speaker of the House. Also he opined that the political stock of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) government will be dented by the saga and the Prime Minister should also intervene. He does NOT agree with the position taken by the Opposition to boycott parliament, no surprise there. As far as he is concerned Carrington has broken no rules of the House therefore the Committee of Privileges will have no choice to return a ‘not guilty’ decision.
There is a lot to untangle from the Carrington matter which is moral, political and legal in makeup. What we know is that the Speaker of the House has been ordered by the High Court of Barbados to pay $200,000 plus to a wheelchair bound client; money he has withheld for years. All sane persons agree this is wrong morally, it is wrong legally based on the court order and the noise of public opinion ensures that it will have legal implications for a weak DLP government.
The Opposition has made a decision to boycott parliament because Carrington refuses to recuse himself from the Chair. His defence, he has not broken any House rules. The Prime Minister, probably advised by constitutional lawyer Hal Gollop, head of the Employment Rights Tribunal and pal, agrees with Carrington’s position. It is obvious Carrington ‘hijacked’ the matter by anticipating the move by the Opposition and Deputy Speaker Mara Thompson was quick to refer the matter to the Committee of Privileges. Many believe the Opposition should have called for a no confidence motion forgetting the Opposition had no control over the matter being referred to Committee. It is true however that by asking for Carrington to recuse himself the Opposition appears to be allowing the matter to play out in Committee. Do we anticipate the Opposition will bring a motion of no confidence if and when the matter is heard by the Committee? What happens in the period until the ruling is made?
BU supports the action of the Opposition. It has a duty to represent the interest of Barbadians and if boycotting and holding public meetings to highlight the wrong perpetrated by Carrington on an 80 year old man is what is required to galvanize Bajans, so be it. Let Arthur and Stuart defend the sacred rules of the House in the face of an obvious wrong. The highest court in the land must stand for justice in the eyes of the people it serves.
Barbados practices a flavour of Westminster government largely constructed on a bed of conventions. Elsewhere members of parliament have resigned from parliament for a lot less to avoid bringing shame and disgrace to the highest court in the land. Because the Stuart led government defends a two seat majority in the house he is forced, ALWAYS, to distil and act on all issues with only political considerations. This is not about Carrington and whether is has broken any House rules, it is about making sure the DLP can still govern.
The government should have a vested interest in ensuring the Speaker is supported by the Opposition. Continue to make laws in a parliament where the Opposition is absent yet tell the world what a wonderful system of democracy we have.
The inadequacy of our system of government is being exposed by this matter!
Bushshite and what about your main boy Caswell is he exempt from your list of ” immoral men? doesn,t he have similar immoral issues that have dogged him over the years .Yet you bushshite have the nerve to be presenting him as a person with leadership and ethical qualities
@ bdosmike February 2, 2015 at 9:38 AM
“Please be aware that since January 2013 BIPA has been in the Supreme Court suing Parris, Duprey, the directors and Officers of CLICO, the Supervisor of Insurance (now FSC) and others. As you can imagine, this is, and has been an expensive and long drawn out affair which is still very much active.”
So what does BIPA going to achieve by this action that should have been undertaken since the collapse of CLICO and was duly advised back then to purse such a course of action?
Don’t you think the same way crooks like Parris have pals in the highest court of the Land he and the other collaborators to that massive swindle of policyholders also have “true” friends in other places passing off as places of law enforcement and justice?
There is clear evidence established by professional auditors that serious financial malfeasance took place in the management of CLICO sufficient to attract a criminal investigation. Do you really feel such a criminal investigation would take place in Barbados given the incestuously corrupt relationships between public officials and certain business moguls? Dale Marshall would become Attorney General of the USA before such journey on the road of justice is started.
Who are the lawyers representing BIPA?
Do you really feel the legal fraternity in Barbados would break ranks to satisfy the cries of justice from the CLICO policyholders especially the ‘broken’ pensioners?
Who is currently paying the fees of JM? Why do you think he is ‘keen’ to go after the recovery of that $3.3 million. Do you think that is to pay the CLICO pensioners that are now totally out to sea?
arterexes it seems as if you have been deeply wounded in the heart by those scurrilous allegations connected to Lisa. but i will tell u what “if””if” lisa can/or would/should present evedience to the contrary showing that she was in no way shape or form actively associated to those allegations
ac would put a full page apology in any of the news outlets via tv or radio or print
The evedience that connects Lisa to those allegations were not drawn out of a rabbitd hat or thin air and by virtue of not adressing she has left the door wide open for further public scrutiny and long term damage to her reputation .
ac;
You just don’t get it!
The material point, in addition to the one that Artaxerxes was making, is that it is really scraping the barrel of immorality for a known operative of a presumably society oriented political party to use an unproven allegation in a confidential personal file to attack a lay person for having the temerity to protest their being laid off from work while new workers are retained.
It is just one other instance which concretizes the notion that the DLP and most of its operatives are immoral to the bone.
are-we-there-yet February 2, 2015 at 11:34 AM #
AWTY, my point exactly. Those idiots parading on BU as AC just don’t understand what exactly is the fundamental issue here. By Lisa “not addressing she has left the door wide open for further public scrutiny and long term damage to her reputation”, a similar inference can be applied to Carrington’s case.
Carrington was sued for with-holding his client’s funds. Therefore, based on the fact that the plaintiff won the case, Carrington failed in his bid to convince the court if he had reason to with-hold such funds. Therefore, it would be reasonable for anyone to logically conclude that Carrington deliberately with-held Griffiths funds, with an intention of permanently depriving him.
Hence, “if Carrington can/or would/should present evidence to the contrary showing that he was in no way shape or form actively associated to those allegations”, And “by virtue of not addressing he has left the door wide open for further public scrutiny and long term damage to his reputation.”
It is blatantly clear that the consortium, by continuing to address this issue, has demonstrated they have the symptoms associated with “foot in the mouth” disease.
@ bdsmike
Please be aware that since January 2013 BIPA has been in the Supreme Court suing Parris, Duprey, the directors and Officers of CLICO, the Supervisor of Insurance (now FSC) and others. As you can imagine, this is, and has been an expensive and long drawn out affair which is still very much active.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bushie is aware of these efforts.
However when one considers the extent of financial damage done DIRECTLY to members of this group, including widows, pensioners, retirees and other poor and helpless citizens, ….
…..HOW THE HELL DO YOU ALL NOT START A DAMN RIOT?
…. HOW DOES BIPA COME OVER AS SO CALM AND ACCOMMODATING TO THESE DAMN CROOKS?
….shiite man…at least pelt some rocks on the chief crook’s palace in st george nuh!!
Wunna ever heard of RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION?
…skin over the damn money-changers’ tables in the Barbados shiite temple nuh….!!
Steupsss…. wuh if wunna so cool …what you expect from those like Bushie who REFUSED to put a cent with such an obvious crook and idiot in the first place…. despite the high interest rate and the bushman’s high liquidity at the time….
The bottom line for BIPA should be JUSTICE… instead of trying not to offend anyone in the hope that somehow the crooks will really use taxpayers money to replace the stolen funds….
@ AC
HAUL….
@ Are-we-there-yet and Artaxerxes,
The legion of ac’s do not or would never understand what sensible people are saying on this Lisa Marshall issue.
“Ba Idiot ac”, the difference is that you nasty dems posted details from a government worker’s personal file which is a breach of all morality and ethics. But there again you dems have none. She was never taken to court on the matter…………….
Whereas Michael Carrington, a senior dem was taken to court and a high court judge ordered him to repay one of his clients over $200,000 which he withheld from his client.
To ask you to understand this is like asking you to climb Mt Everest. What a jackass you all are!
We look forward to hear your excuses on the latest expose on Mara and her beloved husband’s involvement with the 3.333 million dollars belonging to CLICO which she allegedly helped laundered! Bloody hypocrites!
This is after he ran a campaign based on a bold faced lie…………….I will not lie, cheat or steal………..knowing all the while that he was a blasted lying thief!
@ bdsmike
….you don’t want to hear what Bushie thinks of the Barbados Court system ..or of the political system …which are the two main courses of redress that your group seems to be pursuing….
One NEVER enters a battle on the enemy’s terms and/or using THEIR weapons of choice…..
AWTY
well excuse me who made you an authority on all things moral..Sir again what are your objections.?Sir i submit to you that for the past several weekes the BU court has allowed all types of allegations and evedience to be pursued and go unchallenged.Now sir and speaking on my behalf you have accused me of a lack of understanding by use of the same. method that have been allowed to your side asproof wherby the person in question has been accused
In the interest of Fairness i am asking theBU judge to disallow tactics which would hinder my cause and seem to be unfair.
in this case what is good for the goose is good for the gander
@ Miller: “So what does BIPA going to achieve by this action that should have been undertaken since the collapse of CLICO and was duly advised back then to purse such a course of action?”
We would hope to achieve what should have been undertaken since the collapse of CLICO and was duly advised back then to pursue such a course of action!!
Well nobody else was doing it…..
“In the interest of Fairness i am asking the BU judge to disallow tactics which would hinder my cause and seem to be unfair.”
“ac August 29, 2014 at 6:07 PM # : are -we there –yet: i am thinking u full of sh,,t ,,apology ,,,u got to be dam starked crazy,, have u been looking at that woman rap sheet,,and yuh think somebody owes her an apology,,,,,as a matter of fact she owes the taxpayers more than an apology ,,the woman is a screw ball who been living off the taxpayers money,,,”
“ac August 30, 2014 at 2:08 PM #: who said the law is an ass..we have minister who are law breakers and employees running buck shotover the system and the law says those kind of illegalties that goes against of what is right should be kept secretly under cover..the laws is an ass..protecting evil and villifying those who ask why…”
“ac September 1, 2014 at 10:29 PM #: i got some dirt to throw pun wunna low life belly aching scalliwags who believe that employees thieving taxpayers money should not be exposed,,,what nerve,,,,,”
When you were on BU assassinating Lisa Marshall’s character, did you not stop to think she too wanted a fair chance. Your call for “fairness” is based only on the fact that Michael Carrington is a member of the DLP.
Clico got $17billion in the bank in Trinidad according to Lawrence Maharaj in the Express newspaper recently,the proceeds of sales of assets.barbados policyholders should engage Maharaj to plead their case.Maharaj can be admitted to the bar in Barbados.It will be a ’cause celebre’ of massive proportions.Afro Raymond and Mariano Browne can aid Tariq Khan in bringing Ramesh on board.Parris will probably do the Hara Kiri and Mara might follow along with all the fatted calf suckers who were at the trough swilling the sway.(apologies to Lennie)
@ Bush Tea: “HOW THE HELL DO YOU ALL NOT START A DAMN RIOT?”
Well, let’s start with the fact that despite there having been around 25,000 CLICO policies when BIPA started in 2011, a meagre 300 people have joined BIPA (and mostly remained faithful). So what about the rest, you would be expected to ask (BIPA often does). The list of reasons (excuses?) is endless; fear, embarrassment, hopelessness, submissiveness, apathy, lack of faith that anything can be done, let others do it for me, I in’t into dat etc, etc…..
There are a handful who would love to ‘take to the streets’. But cast your mind back to when the entire country supposedly was ‘up in arms’ at the SWT, and a mere 3,000 ‘took to the streets’. Then look at the impact that made on the Government…. and the PM in particular….
If you can’t get 20,000 people to take to the streets on a national matter, how many you think you’ll get on something affecting no more than that number in total?
Except of course, it is way more than that number who are affected. Families, dependents, businesses losing out on custom, $800m less ‘in circulation’ in the economy.
“HOW DOES BIPA COME OVER AS SO CALM?”
Probably because screaming and shouting in Barbados gets you nowhere except a reputation for being a pain in the ass. I am pretty sure some on here would agree with that. BIPA is constantly in contact with the parties concerned and exchanges missives and has meetings with those parties in an attempt to move things forward. In other words, they work quietly behind the scenes and only speak when they have something to say. They are ‘in league’ with no-one except those who show the greatest likelihood of a positive outcome for policyholders, and are probably the only small and dedicated group to have stayed the course, and are still there on the ‘front line’. Their legal representative is extremely loyal, bows to no-one and works within the system to the best of his ability, which we acknowledge is not easy.
Bush Tea February 2, 2015 at 12:29 PM #
…..HOW THE HELL DO YOU ALL NOT START A DAMN RIOT?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
With the QEH running out of supplies almost weekly, no Bajan is eager to facilitate or test Ronald Jones famous problem solving theory.
BdosMike;
One good thing about Bushie’s hyperbole is that it gave you the opportunity to make a well reasoned, sensible response, with facts that I suspect many of us did not know.
Keep on trucking!
@ are-we-there-yet February 2, 2015 at 5:18 PM #
“One good thing about Bushie’s hyperbole is that it gave you the opportunity to make a well reasoned, sensible response, with facts that I suspect many of us did not know. Keep on trucking!”
I agree with you, AWTY.
@ bdosmike February 2, 2015 at 4:46 PM
“Their legal representative is extremely loyal, bows to no-one and works within the system to the best of his ability, which we acknowledge is not easy.”
OK Bajan Joan of Arc, I am glad you have the faith to put your trust in another ‘legal’ charlatan out to extract every millilitre of financial blood from a cadaver called CLICO. We have a question for you, though.
We might have missed it but in your law suit against those whom you feel have contributed through deliberate or professional negligence to the CLICO highway robbery have you included the external Auditors (PWC) as important defendants?
Don’t you think that these so-called competent public accountants should have been more proficient in their fiduciary duty while carrying out their paid professional responsibilities before expressing a true and fair view on CLICO’s financial performance and health? Don’t you know how many persons, including the industry regulators, relied on the opinion of the auditors?
So please tell us- since you seem to be an insider- have BIPA “enjoined” the Auditors in the law suit you stupidly believe would bring justice to the aggrieved CLICO policy holders and pensioners?
David
I will give you a hypothetical situation, and I must add that even though it might have some characteristics or bear some resemblance of known events, I am not referring to any particular person.
An old person, who is not in very good health, hires a lawyer to deal with a matter where that old person would receive substantial funds at the end of the process. The lawyer received the money for his client but pretends that the money has not be paid. Each time the client asks about the money, the lawyer would say something like, you know these things take time or that the other side is playing the fool.
Next thing you know, the old client goes to meet his maker and when the family of the deceased checks with the lawyer, they are told that the money was paid over to the deceased some time ago. The lawyer would then produce a receipt which with a signature that looks like it was written by the trembling hand of an old person.
The family would have no proof and would have to take the word of the lying, thieving and now rich scoundrel.
Again, let me reiterate that any similarities to any other set of circumstances is purely coincidental.
>
prodigal don.t worry about what ac understand and does not,, however what ac does understand is the blp malcontents would prefer to keep their shite all covered up and when exposed call out the ethical and moral police to execute search warrants implement seizures and arrest and confiscates all relevant material , Also include on their list is the protection of their villian.in addition demanding that the executor or the person or person providing the evedience is put under house or sent to jail
the fact is that when you guys are outwitted and outsmart your only defense is to vilify
in the case/issue where this comment should be applied the person at the heart of this matter put self in the spotlight misled again by blp yardfowl who did not have the god given common sense to alert her that she was in no moral position to condemn when many of her actions where below the passing grade,
@ Miller, “So please tell us- since you seem to be an insider- have BIPA “enjoined” the Auditors in the law suit you stupidly believe would bring justice to the aggrieved CLICO policy holders and pensioners?”
Yes, of course we did! You think WE are stupid?
Artaxerxes February 1, 2015 at 2:05 PM #
@ Simple Simon February 1, 2015 at 12:48 PM #
“Does Leroy Parris still enjoy a “not a leper, but my friend” relationship our Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Will our Prime Minister now advise his friend Leroy to “get a lawyer”……”
“I don’t think Froon would recommend Richard Byer, because his fees are a bit too high, so he may recommend his buddy, Hal Gollop.”
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I guess my response to Simple Simon was correct. A few minutes ago on CBC TV evening news, I saw that Hal Gollop is actually representing Leroy Parris.
Froon seems to be protecting his “non-leper” friend.
@ Mr. Caswell Franklyn
It is precisely for this reason that the time has come to migrate all these matters of attorney management of physical funds and or other real property to a virtual register where like the Federal Reserve ALL INTERBANK TRANSACTIONS ARE RECORDED but the variant being that neither the bank initiating the financial transfer nor the receiving bank, in both cases the equivalent of lawyers for either party, shall hold the monies!!!!!
All other procedures, inclusive of legal fees shall be effected by the authorized Legal Escrow Facilitation Unit.
Both the client and the teiffing lawyers of both parties can see all of the financial transactions in their cuntputer but only de LEFU can “touch” de money
Legal Escrow Facilitation Unit (for) Money as in Lef-um or left de people brass hole money alone
look the judical managers are strategically dumb and the various contracts which will be given into evedience would show how that there efforts to haul and drag were self serving and to cover ass nothing more nothing less. after all their were the ones to it around and do nothing to protect the policyholders,.Now they come up with this smoke and mirror strategy pretending, well i have see better nets cast than this one and they came up empty handed ,the same can be said of this
hi bds mike i see the BU court have hired you to be their resident advisor for today to dispel fact from rumor and give these knuckleheads a birds eye view of how things work in the corporate world, but as usual the Master of pontification and hyperbole dusted off his old rule book sat right up front giving advice as to how things legal work in bushman world, very impressive or depressive
listen advisor don’t get too depress the BU gangsters are notorious for head butting i got a few to prove (evedience) any how bro stay( put )any job is better than none even if the wages are cheap, here is a piece of trvia worth stating ( just in case) BU have their resident labour manager Caswelll who himself is unemployed but will take on any challenge be it labour or otherwise
BTW how was my spelling today A or B wait wuh happen to the Judge David he seem to be less frequent today, somebody told me that he was advising mia on how to push carrington off the bench head first followed next by OSA,
@ bdosmike February 2, 2015 at 7:13 PM
Thanks for letting us know you are not that stupid just naïve and living in cloud cuckoo land.
My friend, you will have to wait until 2020 before you get your day in court. This CLICO funeral will last until the Twelfth of Never.
Check and see who will be representing the biggest target of your lawsuit; if not godhorse Hal the teaching mate and confidant of the fumbling man in the highest of places who has a garrulous leper as a pal to protect at all cost and whose law school buddy is in charge of the same judicial arm of government.
Now with such incestuous activity, you really believe your case will ever see the light of day under the current dispensation?
@Caswell Franklyn February 2, 2015 at 7:10 PM #…I will give you a hypothetical situation, and I must add that even though it might have some characteristics or bear some resemblance of known events, I am not referring to any particular person.————————–
Interesting scenario and based on your wide experience there is a good chance this is a composite of situations or actually happened previously.
So my question to you though: What about the cancelled check or wire transfer?
Surely, the elderly person received the ‘substantial funds’ by some means other than cash that can be verified.
The other part of this also is that as a general rule elderly folks should have someone as a trustee (relative, close friend) if they feel a lack of trust with any professional/person with whom they are doing business.
Of course Barbados has it’s problems of elder abuse as well and relatives or supposed confidants may also take advantage of the elderly person and rob them blind.
So, unfortunately some elderly folks are going to get defrauded simply based on the caliber of people in their lives.
Please, please someone give ‘ac’ a blowhorn and send her to Broad Street, we need some light entertainment.
PS ac, your ‘Angel of Wickedness’, priceless that, I cracked up. You are absolutely two cans short of a six pack.
Colonel Buggy February 2, 2015 at 5:09 PM # Bush Tea February 2, 2015 at 12:29 PM #
…..HOW THE HELL DO YOU ALL NOT START A DAMN RIOT?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
With the QEH running out of supplies almost weekly, no Bajan is eager to facilitate or test Ronald Jones famous problem solving theory.
Thanks for reminding, easily forgotten with the hijinks that the rest of the comedy crowd are up to.
My gosh, what a lot.
Perhaps we now understand why the PM and Leroy Parris are bossum buddies. One has wrecked an Insurance empire, and see no fault on his part. The other has wrecked a small coveted empire (ask Ralph Gonsalves) , and similarly cannot see no fault on his part.
@ millertheanunnaki February 2, 2015 at 8:34 PM #
@ bdosmike February 2, 2015 at 7:13 PM
My friend, you will have to wait until 2020 before you get your day in court. This CLICO funeral will last until the Twelfth of Never.
Check and see who will be representing the biggest target of your lawsuit; if not godhorse Hal the teaching mate and confidant of the fumbling man in the highest of places who has a garrulous leper as a pal to protect at all cost and whose law school buddy is in charge of the same judicial arm of government…………..
Well, well, well.
Leroy Parris on my TV tonight telling Barbados with a bold face that he has done nothing wrong and if he had to do it over again, he would do the same.
Maybe thief bigger then?
This man should be glad he lives in Barbados. Can you imagine this man could tell Barbadians that it was not him that caused CLICO to collapse, it was because people bad mouthed the company that caused people to come for their money and made a run on the company. His diabetes really has him delusional.
And can you believe Hal Gollop? The man actually said tonight that based on the papers he had in his hand, CLICO still owes Parris 6.5 million. Does Hal Gollop know that it is alleged that the lying thieving dead king concocted those papers after the company went belly up? When the Oversight Committee asked for these documents, they were non existent. Parris said tonight that the company should never have been put under Judicial Management! He has some nerve.
How can Hal Gollop sell his soul like that? He said that CLICO still owes Parris…………wait, after paying him $80,000 a month, after Parris was siphoning off huge sums by way of Branlee and Professional Services? Flying about in a private jet which cost $90,000 per month to lease…….for his own aggrandizement out of policy holders monies.
Greedy is as greedy gets! Leroy Parris is going to suffer the same fate as David Thompson!
Prodigal Son
Re: your 10:19 comment.
You lost me there. What should?
>
Isn’t the issue about the 3.3 million check more to do with a false invoice generated to support the payment?
@ bdsmike
Thanks for your frank response. Indeed your position is as solid as one would expect from a true Bajan, and in normal circumstances, would warrant a grade A+ appraisal.
In normal circumstances …like where we had real courts, honest lawyers, ..like where Lodges did not supersede the Law of the land, and where politicians were there to guarantee fairness and justice…especially for the weak and poor.
But these are NOT normal circumstances….so normal tactics WILL NOT WORK.
ALSO…Bajans are brass bowl idiots…… You must know that!! THEREFORE you should NOT expect them to stand up for their rights.
…They will not march
…They will not sign petitions
…They will not even whisper too hard …least the neighbor find out CLICO robbed them
SO DON’T EXPECT THEM TO SUPPORT YOU….even though you are probably only doing this for THEM….unless of course you holding a dub fete..
NOW let us look at the tactics….
1) Politicians – NO …they are lackies and have been brought lock stock and barrel by the very thieves you battle…..
2) Lawyers – LOL Ha Ha …oh shiite…. muh belly… even bigger crooks than CLICO..
3) Courts – No… Waste of time. a combination of (1) and (2) above.
4) The Public – NO ….Brass Bowls… as you clearly see from your membership.
5) External forces….YES…
…..Seek ways to go directly to the CCJ just like the Jamaican girl did…
…..Write to the World Bank/IMF and ASK FOR THEIR HELP
…. Check the International agreements we have signed. You are sure to find at least one that has been broken in the CLICO shiite. (Murderers do this all the time to escape being hanged)
… Seek help from iNTERPOL/FBI/Mounties etc by arguing that funds have been laundered offshore into their jurisdictions.
…Engage the international press by writing your story and asking them to highlight your plight
…write a damn book
6) Do like Plantation Deeds and use the social media. Call names. highlight the brazenness of the crooks. keep at it (don’t mind Enuff’s complaints, he knows why it bothers him…) Embarrass their asses. it MUST raise their pressure every time they have to go out in public knowing what people are saying about their deeds…
7) Have a “sit-in” outside Leroy Parris’ house every last Friday in the month… take food and drinks and play some music (Dub) and carry signs asking him please for wunna money as promised….
8) Same thing on Brown’s beach by the esplanade every second Friday. …more food and music ….. and signs asking Froon to ask his friend to please tell the pensioners bout their money….
…and don’t mind the eddy kashun minister with his shiite talk, Bushie understands that some of the same soldiers and policemen going to be on YOUR side of this issue when the bell rings….dem got money in there too…
…he may be surprised WHICH heads get cracked…. 🙂
Former CLICO executive, Leroy Parris has been speaking about the collapse of the company and his role in the business over the years.
This was during a press briefing called by his lawyers Hal Gollop QC and Vernon Smith QC to discuss the latest developments in the matter.
Former Clico Executive, Leroy Parris was responding to questions from the media on whether he felt responsible in any way for the problems being faced by the company.
In fact, Mr Parris says during his time at CLICO, it was well managed and very profitable, accounting for several successful investments in Barbados and across the region.
He says where things went wrong was the run on Clico, after word got out that the parent company had financial problems.
He is adamant however that the Barbados operation should not have been put under judicial management.
The former executive says however he is sorry about the outcome and empathizes with the policy holders, of whom he is one.
On the issue of the 3.3 million dollars which the Judicial Manager is now trying to recover from Mr Parris, his lawyers say it is money to which the former executive is entitled.
Attorney Hal Gollop produced four documents which he says detail the set up of the company, Professional Financial Services and the agreement to pay Mr Parris gratuity of 10 million dollars that was due on May 15th, 2008.
Mr Gollop says there have been several misconceptions over the years regarding the money owed to Mr Parris.
The lawyer declined to comment on the merit of the suit because it is before the court.
The following excerpts were taken from page 12 and 12 of the “Forensic Audit of CLICO International Life Insurance Ltd. (under Judicial Management): Report as of December 5, 2011”:
There were also a number of payments funded by CIL, which related to CLICO Group Executives:
Payments to related parties:
• On January 16, 2009, a payment for $3.333mm was made to the law firm Thompson & Associates by CIL. We examined the invoice from Thompson & Associates dated December 30, 2008, which described four different legal matters in detail and the “fees‟ or “retainers‟ for each. The invoice was approved by Mr. Leroy Parris, as Chairman. The invoice was paid by CIL cheque on January 16, 2009 and deposited „to the credit of the payee‟ that day. CIL recorded three of the four matters as an inter-company receivable from CHBL. We were advised that the fourth amount for $237K was believed by CIL to be its expense at the time the invoice was received and therefore this item was not charged back to CHBL. In CHBL‟s accounting records, three of the four matters were recorded as separate transactions as “Professional Fees”, totaling $3.096mm.
• We have been advised by CIL that the $3.333mm payment was actually to the benefit of Mr. Leroy Parris, the former Chairman of CIL and CHBL, and related to partial payment of a “gratuity”. We have been advised that Mr. Parris acknowledges that this payment was related to the “gratuity” payments owed to him under his employment contract. The employment contract was between CHBL and Professional Financial Services (“PFS”), which we understand to be Mr. Parris‟ company through which his remuneration was paid, and was signed by Mr. Parris, Mr. Duprey, and Mr. Terrence Thornhill. Part 4 of the contract provided that:
o “The employer will pay to Professional Financial Services Inc. and/or Leroy Parris a gratuity of US $5,000,000.00 on the 15th day of May 2008 in such manner as may be agreed between the parties on terms as set out but amended herein as to the date of payment but in no way otherwise in a letter dated December 5, 2002 between Leroy Parris and Lawrence Duprey”.
• We have not seen a copy of the letter dated December 5, 2002 referenced in the employment contract.
• CIL provided a letter dated June 18, 2010 from CHBL to “PFS”, which indicated that:
o “In addition, under contract commencing May 15, 2005, Clico Holdings (Barbados) Limited will pay to you, a gratuity of BDS$10 million on May 15, 2008. BDS$3,333,333 of this amount has already been paid”.
• We found no reference to this payment in the Minutes of CIL or CHBL at or around the time it was made. However, in July 2009, shortly after the appointment of Dr. Frank Alleyne as the Government‟s representative on the Board of CHBL, there was reference to a request from the Oversight Committee for information relating to payments made to Mr. Parris, specifically a copy of Mr. Parris‟ employment contract;
Artaxerxes; Its refreshing to see that they were some DLP operatives who operated with impeccable ethics in matters under their purview. Dr. Frank Alleyne was a shining example of ethical professionalism in the CLICO matter as you outlined above.