Senior Reporter
The People’s National Movement (PNM) has described legal proceedings for it to disclose the financing for the renovation and construction of its Balisier House headquarters in Port-of-Spain as a political witch hunt.
The party issued a press release yesterday afternoon to respond to a newspaper report that High Court Judge Margaret Mohammed had granted a Preliminary Unexplained Wealth Order calling on the party through its trustees to divulge how the multi-million project was funded.
The order, granted on Friday, was sought by the T&T Police Service (TTPS) under the provisions of the Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth Act, which was ironically introduced by the party while in government in 2019.
In the release, PNM Chairman Marvin Gonzales noted that the party had not been served with official court correspondence before the report was published.
“The reports, which include grossly exaggerated figures, seek to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the financing of Balisier House and the People’s National Movement rejects any suggestion that there was anything improper, unlawful or secretive about the funding of its headquarters or the fund-raising activities undertaken by the party over many years,” Gonzales said.
He noted that the land, located at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Tranquillity Street in Port-of-Spain, was acquired by the party over 65 years ago and that the recent redevelopment, which is still ongoing, was never done in secret.
“For well over 15 years, the People’s National Movement has engaged in lawful fund-raising through party activities, public appeals, initiatives and voluntary donations from thousands of members, supporters and well-wishers who believed in preserving one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most enduring democratic institutions,” Gonzales said.
“Many citizens proudly contributed to that effort because they understood that strong political institutions strengthen our democracy,” he added.
Gonzales suggested that the court proceedings are the culmination of a public smear campaign initiated by the United National Congress (UNC).
“It then escalated through the abuse of Parliamentary Privilege, where serious, unsubstantiated allegations were made against the PNM under the protection of Parliament. It has now progressed to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, allegedly seeking and receiving judicial authority to pursue what is a politically motivated witch hunt,” Gonzales said.
He stated that the UNC was opposed to campaign finance legislation, which was also put forward under the previous PNM administration.
“Today, the very same political party that rejected campaign finance reform and has been at the centre of well-documented corruption, political kickback and bid-rigging scandals now seeks to cast suspicion on the lawful fund-raising activities of the People’s National Movement,” Gonzales said.
He suggested that the current UNC-led coalition Government was seeking to “weaponise the machinery and financial resources of the State against its principal political opponent” instead of addressing topical national issues such as the economy, crime, unemployment, healthcare, and education.
“This continuing misuse of scarce public resources in pursuit of political persecution is yet another example of the abuse of authority that has come to define this Government’s short but devastating period in office,” Gonzales said.
“The People’s National Movement has observed an increasingly disturbing pattern in which State institutions are utilised not only to pursue political adversaries but also to obtain personal information on those individuals, creating a real and legitimate concern that such information may ultimately be misused for partisan political purposes,” he added.
Gonzales said that the party had already assembled a legal team to respond to the order once it is properly served and would pursue every legal remedy available to protect it and those affected.
“We remain confident that truth will prevail over propaganda, justice will prevail over political persecution and democracy will prevail over tyranny,” he said.
Financing concerns raised before
The move by the TTPS came a day after former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley claimed that he had been threatened by “certain officials of state” over the party’s headquarters.
“They could target me if they wish because I’ve been getting threats from certain officials of state that I am next, and Balisier House is next,” Rowley said in an exclusive interview with Guardian Media’s Lead Editor-Politics Akash Samaroo on Thursday.
The issue of financing for the project had been raised numerous times in the past by current Government members, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, even before being elected in April last year.
Speaking in Parliament in March, Persad-Bissessar stated, “The PNM hierarchy fattened their pockets from their local drug mafia financiers while the people of Trinidad and Tobago suffered. A short distance away, the new blood-red Balisier House stands as a gravestone to drug money, paedophilia, and theft.”
The TTPS issued a press release late yesterday evening confirming the legal action, which is at a preliminary stage and will be heard and determined after the party and its trustees officially respond.
“A Preliminary Unexplained Wealth Order is an interim measure granted by the Court and does not represent a final determination of liability and wrongdoing,” it said.
“The matter is before the Court, and due process will be observed at every stage,” it added.
The TTPS stated that it is committed to investigating allegations of corruption, white-collar and financial crime without fear or favour.
“All persons and entities are equal before the law and accountability will be pursued through the judicial process,” it said.
While it acknowledged significant public interest in the development, it called on citizens not to jump to conclusions and allow the judicial process to take its course.
Guardian Media contacted Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, to answer questions related to the court proceedings, including a United Kingdom consultancy firm purportedly retained by his office to value the project and the legal team retained by the TTPS, including two British barristers.
Jeremie said Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro was better placed to answer some of the questions.
“We just assist in budgets and spending,” Jeremie said.
Addressing the need for foreign attorneys, Jeremie said: “The legislation is new in this jurisdiction but is modelled on precedents in other parts of the Commonwealth.”
He also pointed out that his predecessor, Faris Al-Rawi, who now serves as an Opposition Senator and under whose tenure the legislation was piloted, recently called for full activation of the legislation currently being utilised against his political party.
About the probe
Several sources close to the TTPS probe into the party’s headquarters claimed that it stemmed from information provided by a confidential informant from inside the party with intimate knowledge of the project.
In his affidavit attached to the application, ASP Ramdath Phillip, acting head of the TTPS Legal Unit, claimed that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the respondent’s total wealth exceeds the value of their lawfully obtained wealth and that the property was obtained through the commission of a specified offence.
He claimed that a report prepared by the Berkeley Research Group (UK) Limited valued the work already completed at $73.272 million and that the new building, still under construction at $118.4 million when completed.
He suggested that investigations into the fundraising initiatives publicly claimed by the PNM appeared insufficient to cover the costs.
Phillip also questioned why construction was stopped after the general election in April last year.
“I suspect that the demitting of PNM from office brought an end to the corrupt funding of the construction of this building,” Phillip said.
He also suggested that there were suspicions that companies that worked on the project, including those linked to a former government minister and executive member, provided services in exchange for government contracts.
Phillip also raised concerns over leaks related to the probe to persons who may be subject to it.
“I have overnight seen, heard, and read statements that have been made by former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley that have given me reason to believe that information forming part of this investigation has been leaked,” he said.
The TTPS is seeking the disclosure of its bank and financial records related to donations and payments for the project.
Guardian Media understands that the TTPS was in the process of serving the court documents on the party’s officials up to late yesterday. Sources said that police officers were having difficulties in locating several officials, who they believe may be aboard at this time.
