Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Yesterday 07:14

Fired Central Bank governor gets green light to sue

A judge has given former Central Bank governor Dr Alvin Hilaire permission to pursue judicial review claims against the Cabinet over his dismissal in June. In court documents filed on September 17, Hilaire claims his termination was unlawful and politically motivated. On September 8, Justice Devindra Rampersad gave Hilaire leave to pursue the claim and set October 23 for the case management hearing. The former governor is seeking declaratory relief, reinstatement of his position and damages totalling $9.8 million for loss of income, emotional distress and breach of constitutional rights. Hilaire, who was reappointed to the top banking post in December 2023 and expected to serve until December 2026, claims Cabinet’s advice to President Christine Kangaloo to revoke his appointment breached the Constitution and the Central Bank Act. He was first appointed governor in December 2015. He argues the decision was made in bad faith, for an improper purpose and deprived him of his legitimate expectation to serve his full term. The filing details a June 24 meeting at the Central Bank where Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Minister Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh allegedly pressured Hilaire to resign, offering full payment for the remainder of his contract. When Hilaire refused and requested legal advice, Swaratsingh later delivered a formal notice of revocation that same evening. Pre-action correspondence outlined the purported exchange between Swaratsingh and Hilaire. It claimed the minister met with Hilaire around 11.30 am on June 24 at the latter’s office and the government wanted him to vacate the office of governor, offering that he would be paid in full for the remainder of his contract if he resigned immediately. Hilaire was reported in the letter to have questioned where such funds would come from, since the bank’s budget had no provision for it, and board approval would be required. The letter stated that Swaratsingh replied that the money would come from government finances and that he would sign off on the transaction as Minister in the Ministry of Finance. It further alleged that the minister said Hilaire should provide his estimated earnings so the Attorney General could issue a letter confirming the buyout. The document also claimed the minister conveyed to Hilaire that the prime minister considered his (Hilaire) refusal to involve the Auditor General in the Central Bank’s accounts as the “last straw.” It noted that the government had raised concerns over the handling of the bank’s external auditing arrangements, particularly the decision to replace the Auditor General with the private firm, BDO. The letter maintained that the Auditor General had voluntarily ceased to serve as the bank’s auditor in 2024 and that the bank had followed procurement rules in contracting BDO as a replacement. It stressed that BDO had no links to Angus Young – brother of former prime minister Stuart Young – who left the firm in 2014, and that Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo had been fully briefed. The letter further alleged that Swaratsingh told Hilaire that the new government wanted its own people in key positions, including the Central Bank. It also stated that when Hilaire requested legal advice, the minister warned that a decision was needed quickly since a new governor was to be appointed later that day, and that failure to resign would result in his removal. It was also alleged that later that afternoon, Swaratsingh returned with a letter signed by the Attorney General, which promised payment equivalent to Hilaire’s remaining contract “as soon as possible,” though the amount was left blank. The letter said the minister again pressed for a resignation, but Hilaire repeated his request for legal advice. Around 7 pm, the minister reportedly returned and handed Hilaire a notice revoking his appointment as governor. Hilaire recounted the events in an affidavit in support of his claim. Hilaire claims the move was politically driven, citing the newly elected government’s desire to install its own candidate. He said in his affidavit, “Upon receiving this instrument of revocation, I felt upset and wondered how the Government could have done this. I felt a sense of distress and hurt. I was also worried about my reputation and how the public would perceive me as a ‘terminated Governor.' I felt that I was unfairly treated by the Cabinet.” Hilaire continued, “I say that at no time whatsoever was I informed of any charge of misconduct in relation to my duties, and I was not at any time presented with any charge of misconduct in relation to my duties. I was not given any opportunity to be heard prior to any conclusion by the Cabinet that there was a basis to terminate my appointment on the ground that I was guilty of misconduct in relation to my duties as governor. “Further, I am not aware of any basis upon which the Cabinet could rationally and/or reasonably form the view that I was guilty of any misconduct in relation to the performance of my duties as governor of the Central Bank.” Hilaire maintains that the dismissal of the bank’s governor “cannot be for no reason, at the whim of the President and/or Cabinet, or for political reasons.” “I say that I was deprived, and deliberately deprived, of the benefit of the protections which the law provides for when, on June 24, 2025, the Cabinet advised Her Excellency to terminate my appointment “I was informed by Minister Swaratsingh that the Government already had someone in mind to replace me as the governor of the Central Bank and wanted to pay me for the remainder of my term...and that if I refused to resign, my appointment would be revoked. “Cabinet's subsequent decision consequent upon my failure to resign was in conflict with the policy of the Central Bank Act, an abuse of power, done for improper motives, done in bad faith, was unreasonable, done for an improper purpose, and that it failed to satisfy or observe conditions and procedures required by law.” In his lawsuit, Hilaire seeks an order to quash the Cabinet’s decision, a declaration that his termination was unconstitutional, and compensation in salaries, allowances, gratuities, and benefits he claims were lost due to the premature dismissal. The defendants named are the Cabinet and the Attorney General. “Cabinet's advice to Her Excellency to be false and implicitly defamatory, an affront to the professional reputation which for years I had struggled and worked hard to cultivate, both locally and internationally, and/or designed to discredit me in my calling as an economist. “I am now 68-years-old, and I expected to complete my tenure as governor in December 2026. It is very hard for me, at this stage of life, to now seek alternative employment and especially as my term as governor ended in the scandalous, premature and illegal manner as I have described above. “I remain disappointed and flabbergasted that the government would attempt to bring my sterling professional reputation into disrepute after all of the decades of service to this country. The fact that advice was rendered for my appointment to be terminated on those grounds, for which there was no basis, has therefore been a tremendous source of worry, personal discomfort, distress and upset. “The Central Bank is statutorily isolated, and by and large, protected from interference by the Executive with a great deal of statutory independence as set out in the Central Bank Act.” Hilaire is represented by Stuart Young, SC, Anthony Bullock and Imran Ali. The post Fired Central Bank governor gets green light to sue appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.