Inshan Ishmael threatens Integrity Commission with lawsuit

VALSAYN businessman Inshan Ishmael is threatening to take the Integrity Commission to court over an a delay in investigating a complaint he has made about “alleged copious allocation of foreign exchange” to a foreign-used car dealer.

A pre-actio protocol letter was sent to the commission on Saturday by Ishmael’s attorney Richard Jaggasar.

In it, Ishmael is questioning the decision by the commission not to take further action as it relates to his complaint.

He will approach the courts for declarations that the commission has neglected or failed to adhere to its statutory duties and powers and that the two-year delay to conduct an investigtaion was unreasonable and an act of bad faith.

If the commission does not respond to the letter by early September, he will also ask the courts for an order to get certain entities to respond to letters to provide the commission with information relating to Ishmael’s complaint.

The businessman who also operates his own foreign-used parts dealership filed his complaint with the commission on July 13, 2021, detailing a number of his concerns about the allocation of foreign exchange to the other company, questioning if there was a bias in the process.

The commission acknowledged the complaint and opened an investigation but Ishmael was told it had repeatedly made requests to relevant stakeholders for information and documents to proceed with the investigation.

“However, useful responses have not been received. This has resulted in significant delays regarding the commission;s investigation,” Ishmael was told on Friday.

The commission also said it was waiting on legal advice of senior counsel on the next step in its investigation.

“The commission wishes to assure you that it is actively investigating your complaint.”

However, the pre-action letter said between July 2021-July 2023, Ishmael heard nothing about the investigation and made two requests for an update in August before he received a response on Friday.

Jaggasar referred to a complaint by UNC activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj on August 3 and eight days later, on August 11, the commission responded to that complaint after it came under public scrutiny.

“It is uncertain whether the response was only triggered by the national outrage or normal practice. However, it shall be contended at trial that the delay in communication between the commission and the intended claimant is an act of bad faith designed to delay any true investigation,” the attorney said.