Dubai-based attorneys, retained by the National Energy Corporation (NEC), are expected to appear in court next Wednesday to begin the process of returning the $25 million that was stolen to the company. The lawyers are also seeking an additional $6 million (TT) in compensation from Andrew James Thomas Newman Inc, whose company was on the other end of an illegal wire transfer of funds from the NEC.
This will be a total of $31 million to be returned to the NEC. On Thursday, the NEC’s lawyers, Ince and Company, sent correspondence to the NEC notifying the company that it had received the court date. The attorneys advised NEC that an application was made to the Dubai Centre for Amicable Resolution and the” first hearing” was scheduled for May 27, 2015, for the four judgements. The application would seek to achieve the following:
(i) Obligate (1) Andrew James Thomas Newman and (2) the National Bank of Abu Dhabi to refund to National Energy the amount of US$3,724,998 equalling AED13,707,992, plus legal interest at the rate of nine per cent, calculated from the transfer date of this amount on September 21, 2011, to the bank account of Andrew James Thomas Newman, until the final payment is made to National Energy;
(ii) Obligate Andrew James Thomas Newman to pay to National Energy an amount of AED3,475,000 as compensation, plus legal interest at the rate of nine per cent calculated from the date of the filing of the case until the final payment;
(iii) Obligate (1) Andrew James Thomas Newman and (2) National Bank of Abu Dhabi to pay the case fees, the expenses and the attorney fees; and
(iv) In the event that the case is not settled before the Dubai Centre for Amicable Resolution, the case file be sent to Dubai Court to issue the required judgment. Ince and Company was retained back in 2011 when it was first discovered that $60 million was siphoned from the company’s account at First Citizens in three tranches and sent to three companies in Antigua, Boston and Dubai. Of that $60 million, just under $25 million (US$3,725,000) was sent to Andrew James Thomas Newman Inc located in Dubai and remained in a frozen account in Dubai.
The Sunday Guardian received information from NEC’s senior executives confirming that its lawyers had applied to the Dubai courts to leverage on Andrew James Thomas Newman and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi to refund the sum to NEC.
The lawyers are also expected to be seeking the court’s approval to obligate Andrew James Thomas Newman to pay to NEC an amount of $6,015,393 (TT) as compensation, plus legal interest at the rate of nine per cent calculated from the date of the filing of the case until the final payment.
“The criminal case has confirmed that National Energy (NEC) is the owner of the funds, obtaining a judgment which confirms that the funds are to be returned to National Energy,” the executives said.
Another legal letter between NEC and Ince and Company, dated March 5, 2015, advised of the following course of action: Filing of NEC’s civil claim before the Dubai Centre for Amicable Resolution; application to the UAE Central Bank to return the funds based on the criminal judgment in National Energy’s favour; meeting with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in an attempt to convince them to return the funds to National Energy based on the criminal judgment in National Energy’s favour.
The Sunday Guardian learned that in 2011, the siphoning of funds was done using a procedure “which was not standard for the confirmation and validation of NEC wire transfers” from the NEC. Despite not being responsible, the NEC has put measures in place to ensure that this siphoning of funds does not happen again.
In an email interview with NEC management, they confirmed that even though the wire transfers were “fraudulently prepared outside National Energy’s internal processing system,” the company had implemented the following changes:
n Implementation of an electronic funds transfer system for foreign payments
n Improved security and controls over documents, records, information and assets
n Strengthening of physical security and access controls to the Finance and Accounting Department
n Requirement that NEC president approve all payments greater than US$100,000
The NEC is also denying media reports that one of its messengers participated in the fraudulent siphoning of funds.
“The individual who presented the forged documents to First Citizens was not an employee or agent of National Energy and is unknown to the Company,” the NEC executives said.
They also said that the company had no information on the contents or details of any invoice for food or condiments before the fraudulent transactions were executed.
“None of the recipients of the fraudulent transfers were or have ever been a vendor, contractor, creditor, employee, or agent or had ever been in any way affiliated with National Energy,” the company seniors said.
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Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley first ventilated the missing funds during a PNM platform meeting at the Larry Gomes Stadium on May 7. At that meeting, Rowley noted that current Finance Minister Larry Howai was at the helm of both organisations when the fraudulent wire transfers were done. Rowley revealed then the details of an Interpol-led investigation into how $60 million had been siphoned from the NEC through an account at First Citizens. Rowley criticised Howai for lauding his own tenure at First Citizens during a parliamentary session, saying that he never raised the NEC money loss issue.
Howai subsequently responded that because he straddled both organisations, he stepped aside and requested that two other senior executives take over the investigation at each company.