Cops probe former sports minister over $400m Life Sport

Former sports minister Anil Roberts said he has nothing to hide as police revive the probe of the controversial Life Sport programme which he created in 2012 under the People's Partnership (PP) administration.

Senior police sources told Sunday Newsday that Roberts is being investigated for his involvement in the programme, which lasted two years and cost taxpayers some $400 million and has been blamed for a rash of murders by criminal gangs.

In a telephone interview last Wednesday, Roberts laughed when asked for comment on his being investigated.

"Tell them investigate me from now until 2058 they will not find anything more than Anil Roberts is a Trinbagonian, a dougla and a supporter of Kamla Persad-Bissessar."

Roberts added that his name was never mentioned in an audit into the programme that led to it being scrapped.

He said he could be investigated "up, down, left, right," but nothing untoward will be found against him. He also called on the police to investigate other politicians, specifically those in the PNM as well.

The Life Sport programme, which was Robert's brainchild, was found to be fraught with corruption and was shut down by prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in July 2014, two years after it began, after an audit by the Ministry of Finance.

Police sources said the White Collar Crimes Unit is investigating the former Olympic swimming coach and D’Abadie/O’Meara MP. The Fraud Squad, Finance Intelligence Bureau and Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau are also part of the investigation. Roberts himself is yet to be interviewed. The investigation, Sunday Newsday was told, began sometime in 2019.

Police sources said the case is multi-pronged and focuses on Roberts' involvement in Life Sport only.

Sunday Newsday contacted Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, who was national security minister in the PP government at the time, and was told the matter is engaging the attention of the police but he is not at liberty to say anything further.

During an interview with Tony Fraser on Power 102 in 2017, Griffith said he was the person who alerted his Cabinet colleagues to allegations of impropriety in the programme, which led to a government-ordered audit. Griffith said then that based on his investigations at the time, Roberts had done no wrong.

Rumours of Roberts being tipped to fight for the Tunapuna parliamentary seat in the 2020 general election campaign were dismissed by both him and party insiders.

Roberts who left the Congress of the People to join the United National Congress, however, said last week he is available to serve in any capacity that he is called to by the political leader.

He added that his work to rid the country of the "worst government in the Caribbean" is all he is focused on and he wished the police good luck in their investigations.

The end of Life Sport

On July 25, 2014, Persad-Bissessar announced the termination of Life Sport in Parliament.

She said the findings of the audit team included procurement breaches; a deviation from the mandates of Cabinet; involvement in criminal activities; fraud by suppliers; theft of equipment; breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act; and poor control and monitoring by the Sports Ministry.

Roberts subsequently resigned from the Cabinet and as D’Abadie/O’Meara MP on July 31, 2014.

Addressing Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said: “Any person or group who seeks to subvert the law and the public benefit, will pay the full price of the law. This programme was conceptualised and formulated as part of a comprehensive programme to try to roll back the tide against criminals and criminality in our country.”

She added: “And this is where I must express my personal deep disappointment and dismay that a programme that was intended to save lives, to build lives, was used by a group of people for fraud and personal gain. This group of people who derailed the good intentions of the programme, have in effect given their support to criminality, in some cases, rather than to our young people. For these reasons and because of the very serious breaches found, the Life Sport Programme will be immediately terminated.”

In October 2016, High Court judge Mira Dean-Armorer quashed the report of the Ministry of Finance’s central audit committee into Life Sport. The report was ordered by Persad-Bissessar.

The 54-page report concluded that there was poor monitoring and control of the programme by the Sport Ministry, and there might have been breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act. Police information suggested criminal elements may have supervised and co-ordinated Life Sport.

In her judgement, Dean-Armorer said the report should be sent back to the audit team.

When the report was ordered the audit team was led by finance minister Larry Howai, By the time the judgement was delivered, Finance Minister Colm Imbert had inherited the leadership of the team.

Dean-Armorer ruled that the right to natural justice was infringed and the auditors failed to inform the Sport Ministry officials named in the report.

After the judgement, Persad-Bissessar, at a political rally, said the ruling cleared the way for Roberts to return to the UNC's frontline. Roberts also claimed vindication then and was later seen at UNC public rallies.

After the ruling, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said nothing had changed and while the audit was deemed null and void, there was nothing in the judgment that
blocked any criminal probes.

One of the beneficiaries of Life Sport, educator Adolphus Daniel, who received $34 million for teaching he did not do because the programme was scrapped earlier than planned, called for a public enquiry into Life Sport. In December last year, Daniel called for the enquiry while maintaining that he will not be returning the fees paid to him.

Daniel said then in a media release: “The greater good of Life Sport was buried under the greed of just a few.

"The truth is there were concerned professionals who were working in the Life Sport Programme with and without pay and were devoted and fully committed to country.

"The country needs to know the truth about Life Sport and the roles of the various players including myself.

"Therefore, let those in public office, who say they care and who continue to demonise Life Sport at every opportunity, call a public inquiry. Call it now! I have time, and let the chips fall where they may,”

Findings of the audit

The audit into Life Sport found some participants were not interested but registered just to collect the monthly stipend and daily meals.

There were names submitted beyond the stipulated number and each person was paid.

Participants were not the full beneficiary of the stipends, especially in areas where gang violence was rampant as they were made to pay part of their allowances to gang leaders. Some participants were forced to join the programme. Some returned to a life of crime at the end of the programme if they were not successful in obtaining sustainable employment.

The report also highlighted that the police found some of the co-ordinators were of questionable character, and believed the programme was fuelling criminal behaviour.

The report was sent to the offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Commissioner of Police, the Integrity Commission and the head of the Public Service.

What was Life Sport?

Life Sport was a social programme geared at reforming youths in high-risk communities. It started with a budget of $6,647,000 in 2012.

Each attendee was paid $1,500 a month along with a daily meal allowance of $75. The allowance was not paid to the trainees, but given to contractors who supplied meals.

The programme was planned to operate in 33 centres with 60 people in each centre. Co-ordinators of the programme were paid an allowance of $30,000.

When the ills of the programme became known, it was removed from the purview of the Ministry of Sports and placed under Griffith, then minister of national security.

By 2014, the cost of the programme had skyrocketed to some $267 million.