Imbert accuses Lok Jack of mischief

Finance Minister Colm Imbert has accused local business magnate Arthur Lok Jack of “public mischief” for reportedly saying the Government should “get the hell out” of its involvement in Clico.

The Government had, in fact, exited Clico in 2017, Imbert said, when it handed the company over to court-ordered liquidators, Hugh Dickson and Marcus Wide of the firm Grant Thornton. “This has been widely publicised in the print and electronic media.”

Since September 2017, the joint liquidators had to file the registrar’s report in writing, and every six months, file and update, including accounts of costs to the courts, he said. Reading from an article in yesterday’s Express, where Lok Jack was quoted making the comments at a TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce event, Imbert sarcastically quipped, “Well yes.” It was equally surprising, he said, to read that the audience of entrepreneurs and business people applauded.

The liquidation was in accordance with the Companies Act, he said, and businessmen like Lok Jack and others at the chamber meeting would be aware of the requirements.

Imbert said, “This statement about the Government needs to get the hell out of there makes absolutely no sense and in fact, I would say it is tantamount to public mischief. I want to make it clear that the Government is not appointing this board and that board. In fact, in the filings to the court the liquidators are the ones appointing the boards of the various subsidiaries of (Clico) and that should be known by all these magnates, all these tycoons and so on. I just think this whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, what kind of statement is this? ‘These things are being run under the guise of I don’t know what?’ (Steups.) Absurd. So I want to clear the air on that.”

He said the Government did have directors on certain boards because of its shareholding. For example, there’s a Government director on Angostura because the state owns 30 per cent of shares and another on Home Construction Ltd because it owns 16 per cent. “All of the others members of the board off all the subsidiaries have been appointed by the liquidators, the Government has not been running these companies. That is a farcical and absurd statement,” Imbert said.

Asked if he was concerned about the message Lok Jack’s statement might send, Imbert said the Government was fed up with “the campaign of public misinformation.”

Imbert added, “This is not the first time. I hope it’s the last time. This is just bad information and we are fed up of it. So we are just clearing the air. It is time to put all of this to rest. We are not running CL Financial. From the time the Government went to the court and appointed liquidators we surrendered control of CL Financial.”