Al-Rawi reports Anand

NEWSDAY REPORTER

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi will be writing this country’s final court, the Privy Council, to correct “blatant untruths” told to its judicial committee by his predecessor Anand Ramlogan on March 20.

At a news conference at the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Tower in Port of Spain yesterday, Al-Rawi said he will be dispatching that letter later in the day. Al-Rawi said there is live video footage from the Privy Council on that day, showing Ramlogan advising co-counsel Richard Clayton, QC, to tell the law lords untruths related to legal action against former Petrotrin executive chairman Malcom Jones (now deceased).

Al-Rawi explained that contrary to statements by Clayton, Ramlogan resigned as attorney general on February 5, 2015 and not in January 2014. He said a cabinet note dated June 4, 2010, showed the then Kamla Persad-Bissessar cabinet directing Ramlogan to secure forensic auditors for Petrotrin regarding the World Gas to Liquids (WGTL) matter.

The only other two cabinet notes about WGTL (Dec 30, 2009 and March 11, 2010), Al-Rawi said, showed no legal action taken against Jones while the People’s National Movement was in office.

He said Petrotrin’s board minutes under the former People’s Partnership government, showed Ramlogan had exclusive management of any litigation against Jones. Al-Rawi said this was also reflected in testimony on April 25, 2016 by then Petrotrin legal department head Radhica Maharaj-Adarsingh.

But Al-Rawi said it is now public knowledge that Ramlogan never initiated any legal action against Jones. He reitreated this was because of advice from Vincent Nelson, QC, hired by the PP, that the case would collapse. Al-Rawi said the “story gets worse” when Ramlogan’s Freedom Law Chambers filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking for the disclosure of the judgement delivered in the London Court of Arbitration in the WTGL St Lucia matter and all related witness statements.

Al-Rawi said Ramlogan would have been privy to all of this information as attorney general. He said, “If one considers that is what can happen before the highest court of this land. I’m asking you to be informed of the kind of people who are speaking for certain other people in this country.” Responding to Al-Rawi’s statements, Ramlogan said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the attorney general to comment on any matter that is before any court.