Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 20/Jan 04:46

No joking matter

SEVENTEEN years since the Manning administration agreed to a bailout of the tottering CL Financial empire, no one has been held accountable. Throughout those years, taxpayers have borne a $28 billion burden, made heavier by staggering legal fees ­– $3 billion to $4 billion – in cases before the civil courts. It’s time to count our losses and end civil suits that the government, once more under the prime ministership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, is not willing to spend more resources on. This is the scenario the Attorney General presented to Parliament on January 16, as he laid the Sir Anthony Colman Commission of Enquiry report. He promised to be “cost-effective” in his approach to withdraw from civil cases that are still to be adjudicated on: a Central Bank lawsuit against CL Financial was due to be heard on January 19. John Jeremie, SC, also did not hold out hope for any criminal charges, noting such action is the remit of the Director of Public Prosecutions. “This is a joke of an investigation,” the AG said, referring to inadequate policing resources to probe a major financial case. This is the crux of the problem. TT lacks the accounting forensic capabilities to successfully criminally prosecute financial cases on the scale of CL Financial. Not only at the police level, but also accounting firms. The Colman report was not made public by the Rowley administration, essentially owing to the risk of defaming key players, and jeopardising criminal prosecution. TT is not unique in this challenge: Internationally, most cases are settled by civil suits for the same reasons: the complexity of investigating the financial operations and proving criminal intent. The Enron (2001) and Bernie Madoff Securities (2008) cases in the US are among the exceptions. Executives were charged and found guilty of fraud. In most of the instances, the SEC fined executives and companies millions in US dollars. But even civil cases in TT take a long time, as argued by the AG. In a struggling economy, it is perhaps the best, if not prudent, option to end civil cases. The DPP is yet to say if he would do the same. One thing that should not be lost is the systemic failing of our financial system to the public which the Colman report has revealed. While much focus has been on CL Financial/Clico, the fall of the Hindu Credit Union also holds lessons. Forensic training should be included not just for police, but more accountants, lawyers and other arms of the state, if the public is to be protected from losing their life savings entrusted to financial institutions. The post No joking matter appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.