Elias gets his millions

Contractor Emile Elias, who resigned as chairman of state-owned TSTT in September, has recovered the debt owed to him by a company once owned by Finance Minister Colm Imbert for work on the Grenada National Stadium project in 1997.

On November 1, High Court judge Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell granted permission to Elias’ NH International (NHIC) to enforce the judgement on the funds, which were being held in escrow at the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC).

Newsday has been informed that the approximately US$6.4 million held in the fund was paid to Elias’ company last month.

On January 28, 2001, Justice Peter Rajkumar ordered Imbert’s National Stadium Project (Grenada) Corporation (NS) to pay the debt. Rajkumar made the order after delivering a 108-page ruling on the legal battle between Elias and Imbert, which had been waged in the local, regional and international courts.

Elias had accused Imbert of reneging on a contractual agreement and of refusing to pay. He filed a lawsuit against ICS (Grenada) Ltd, Clico Investment Bank (CIB) and NS – a company Imbert was said to have formed to hold the lease on the stadium.

The lawsuit sought payment of a debt of $17 million (estimated to be worth $55 million when added to interest), representing part of a sum set aside by CIB years ago to pay NH for the stadium project.