Keep race out corruption case

The litigation surrounding the operations of the Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD) has now been running for ten years.

At the heart of the allegations are lawsuits filed by five contractors to recover an estimated $200 million owed on 12 contracts awarded in the months before the 2015 election.

The EMBD, effectively under new management with the change of government in 2015, filed its own lawsuit alleging that the contractors were part of a conspiracy involving outgoing housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, and EMBD executives in the award of the contracts.

There have been multiple legal challenges and manoeuvres as both prosecutor and defendant jostle to prosecute and to dismiss the case.

The PNM, for its part, has not hesitated to use the case as an indicator of alleged corruption by members of the UNC. In 2023, three judges of the Court of Appeal, Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and Maria Wilson made a formal statement describing Dr Rowley’s description of the appeal as inaccurate and dismissing Dr Moonilal’s accusations of political influence and labelling of the matter “a PNM case,” as vulgar, warning politicians about “traversing the path of imputing improper motive.”

In October 2024, the Privy Council ruled that the EMBD should pay one of the contractors, Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd, $82.8 million after local courts ruled in favour of the contractor.

The Privy Council ruled that the EMBD’s claim of fraud was “fanciful and speculative.”

It was a humiliating conclusion to one aspect of the case, but Attorney General Reginald Armour claimed that the EMBD had “significant expert evidence,” to present to the courts.

On February 12, the EMBD advised Justice Frank Seepersad that an amended statement of the case had been filed, expanding the legal claims against the defendants.

Defending Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein suggested that the new allegations target Dr Moonilal “oppressively.” Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar went further, describing the EMBD’s action as a racist campaign strategy.

Dr Rowley responded with a news conference at Whitehall to debunk the opposition’s position and emphasised that it was a court matter. Mrs Persad-Bissessar responded that the PM’s press conference was “a deliberate and co-ordinated racist propaganda campaign.”

The political perspective on the matter has now diverged entirely from the case that will be tried before the courts.

In New York, an immigration issue also involving race relations has led to top-level resignations in the Justice Department after Manhattan prosecuting attorney Danielle Sassoon refused to halt a case alleging financial misconduct by New York mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and supporter of President Trump’s plans for immigrants.

John Keller, acting head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit was directed to drop the case. He also resigned, along with four senior officials in the unit.

Political interference in a formal legal process may be a tempting path to follow, but assaulting the supremacy of the law and judicial process undermines the foundation of a nation’s democracy.

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