Finance and the Economy Minister Larry Howai yesterday accused Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley of trying to bring him down via a motion of no confidence in Parliament.
But Howai said he could not be brought down so easily, adding the information brought to the House was a fraud.
Rowley’s motion was based on an unsigned document which he referred to in his presentation yesterday. (See page A6)
Howai, however, denied a claim that while he was CEO at First Citizens Bank (FCB) he had signed a notice of price-sensitive information to Cemex in its 2002 attempted bid to take over Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL).
Howai said he wrote to Cemex on February 4, 2015, to determine if the claim was true. He said the company’s attorney replied to his letter saying it did not have a notice of price-sensitive information signed by him.
Howai said he didn’t have any such notice in his possession, the bank didn’t have any and the attorneys did not have a copy.
He also dismissed a claim that he attended meetings on the proposed takeover in 2002.
In fact, he said, his passport records showed that he was in Canada at the time of the alleged meeting.
Howai said he also received a letter from attorney for Sir Henry Forde QC denying that he had any report relating to Howai in the said takeover bid. He described the “report as a fraud.”
“What we are dealing with is the work of ruthless fraudsters who are criminals,” Howai said.
He said the matter occurred about 13 years ago and he was already interviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
He said the motion was brought against him because “people think that maybe I boosted the government’s image.”
As far as he could see, Howai said, the motion was brought for the singular purpose of raising questions about him or destroying his name.
But he recalled a Sunday school lesson, which said, “What is built on rock and has a solid foundation cannot be brought down so easily by a strong wind far less by a foul breeze.”
He said he “dismissed this particular report. I dismiss all the allegations in there.”
Opposition MP Colm Imbert said despite Howai’s response he had not answered the issues raised in Rowley’s motion.