Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has done the unthinkable by breaking his silence on the CLICO mess. To quote him: “. . . Wait. There is going to be a lot to be said on this. Do not mistake my silence for an incapacity to speak. The time will come when all things will be made clear and explained. I ain’t saying anything yet” He added: “I have a list . . . of all of the persons who invested in the Executive Flexible Premium Annuity [EFPA], but I ain’t saying nothing yet. I know all the people who earning quick money, who were entranced by the lure of attractive interest rates. I know them, I have all of the names”.
Given the pace – or lack of it – at which Stuart moves Barbadians should not expect to hear from him anytime soon. Instead CLICO policyholders would prefer to hear the government enunciate a plan to resolve the plight of the policyholders.
So what if the Prime Minister has a list of Barbadians who bought the EFPA? Of course we agree with him greed played a part and high interest rates offered by the Parris led company resulted in the predicament many EFPA policyholders find themselves. The question we want the prime minister to answer is why was CLICO allowed to sell the EFPA and who should ultimately be responsible.
The Prime Minister’s statement is obviously meant to deflect from the unfavourable barrage of public opinion directed at the government. The incestuous relationship which exist between prominent Democratic Labour Party (DLP) players and Parris explains why the DLP is forced to defend the indefensible. AND there is the shattered legacy of the late David Thompson who was the ultimate ‘’’ÇLICO insider’ to consider.
A search of BU archives will turn up many blogs complimentary of Leroy Parris. We are on record of praising his rags to riches story. However, BU will not be distracted – our concern is one issue the CLICO investigation has exposed and which no sensible explanation has been offered so far. On page 9 of the Forensic Audit Report $3.33 millions dollars was made by CLICO Insurance Life on behalf of CLICO Holdings Barbados Limited supported by a fake invoice. The Group Financial Controller Terrence Thornhill was interviewed by Deloitte Auditors who confirmed the finding.
So Mr. Prime Minister go ahead and use the list of names on the Schedule of Executive Flexible Premium Annuities (EFPAs) included in the Forensic Report which was not made public, BUT, also take the opportunity to explain the $3.33 million dollar payment on a fake invoice and the fact the invoice was emailed from thompy@caribsurf.com.
We are wary and weary of the political gymnastics Mr. Prime Minister. We continue to look for signs that Mr. Integrity is back!
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