Imbert: 'Excellent' prospects to recover CL Financial $8b

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert has said CL Financial and its subsidiaries still owe the State more than $8 billion.

He was responding to a question in the House on Wednesday.

He reported the total amount owed by CL Financial and its subsidiaries under the memorandum of understanding and the shareholders' agreement was $23.095 billion. This figure did not include other costs, such as the adviser and legal fees incurred by the Government.

Imbert said the total debt owed to the Government by Clico was $18.085 billion, including interest of $2.229 billion.

"To date the only member of the CL Financial Group that has repaid monies to the Government is Clico."

He reported as at September 30, 2019 Clico has repaid a total of $14.986 billion, including interest of $2.159 billion. As at that date the amount still outstanding by the CL Financial Group is $8.109 billion, of which Clico's outstanding debt is $3.098 billion, including interest to date.

Tabaquite MP Suruj Rambachan asked the cost of the adviser and legal fees, but Imbert replied he did not have that information.

"But it was a fraction of the money recovered. We recovered $15 billion. And the fees paid was an infinitesimal fraction of that amount."

Rambachan asked what were the prospects of collecting the $8.1 billion.

Imbert replied: "Under the PNM? Excellent. And it's $8 billion plus."

In January 2009, TT-based CL Financial and related companies collapsed and sent a major financial shock throughout the Caribbean, and led to a government bail-out.