Finance Minister Larry Howai will review documents from both axed Clico chairman Gerald Yetming and Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran in connection the recent Clico payout to four former directors, which ultimately cost Yetming his job.
In addressing the issue on CNC3 yesterday, Howai, noting the conflicting statements of the parties involved, said he would not cast any judgments on the matter until he had seen the “underlying documents” from both sides. But while he has already received the information from Central Bank, he said he was yet to see any documents from Clico.
“I suppose there will be a number of nuances that will arise from what people thought they understood or didn’t understand. I would prefer to wait before I could then say this is something we should or shouldn’t,” Howai said.
On Friday last, the Central Bank issued a statement announcing that Yetming’s appointment as chairman had been terminated, along with the revocation of Carolyn John as managing director.
The Central Bank said the two were fired after Clico failed to follow the March 26 instructions given by the bank on the procedure for all disbursements to policyholders and creditors under the Clico Resolution Plan. The instructions included obtaining approval from the bank for all payments prior to disbursement.
Yetming, however, has insisted that no protocols or instructions from the Central Bank were breached. He also called on Rambarran to explain his actions regarding the dismissals.
In response to the controversy, Howai yesterday said: “The Governor advised me of the circumstances. He did speak to me on Friday morning to confirm that Clico had made payments although the Central Bank had given written instructions not to do so.
“Subsequently, he did send an email back to me saying this is what he was going to do. He did send me something prior.
“Subsequent to that, the chairman sent additional information which seems to have a different take on what actually happened. As a consequence, what I have done is asked to see the underlying documents which support the position being suggested by either side.”
Howai added that the Central Bank told him that they never gave any approval for the payments.
“What had happened was that Clico provided them with the information and they were in the process of reviewing that information. They met with Clico representatives to discuss the information they had before them and they were then supposed to report back to the Governor, who was supposed to make a decision,” Howai said.
Asked about the statements by the Central Bank last week in defending payouts to the directors who did not have litigation against them, Howai said the Central Bank took the stance that legally, the payments were due to be made but further approval was needed.
“Yes, legally the payments were due to be made as they had no legal issues. However, there were additional things that they needed to check and confirm before agreeing that they can proceed,” he said.
Addressing the possibility of Yetming being vindicated in the matter, Howai said he did not want to speculate on the issue until he could verify the facts.
Payout plan
The issue involving Yetming and John developed after the media reported that four former directors, their companies and connected parties had already been paid some $36.1 million last week.
Rambarran had defended Clico’s right to pay the former directors, saying a sum of over $63 million was put aside to pay ten former directors. However, when the media reported that the four directors—Ian Garcia and his company, Events Unlimited; Clinton Ramberansingh and his connected parties (Bianca Ramberansingh and Martina De Silva); Vishnu Ramlogan and Nigel Salina and his company, Nigel Salina and Associates—had already been paid, the move drew public criticism.
In defending himself, Yetming had indicated that the only individual he was specifically notified not to pay out any money to was former CL Financial corporate secretary Gita Sakal, who is part on an ongoing legal matter with the company.
The Central Bank had also announced that apart from Sakal, former CLF chairman Lawrence Duprey and CFO Andre Monteil, also part of the same litigation, would also not be entitled to payments.