[UPDATED] Former CL Financial chairman Duprey dead at 89

BUSINESSMAN and former executive chairman of CL Financial Lawrence Duprey has died at 89. Although an official announcement is yet to be made sources told Newsday he "died peacefully" on August 24.

Duprey inherited Colonial Life Insurance Company (Clico) from his uncle Cyril Duprey and expanded it into CL Financial, the largest local conglomerate and one of the first local insurance companies. After the group collapsed in 2009, the government "bailed out" Clico at a cost, as of 2020, $30 billion.

Former minister of finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira, who played a key role in the bailout, told Newsday there was good which must also be remembered. She described him as a "great man who unfortunately lost his way."

"I think we have lost a great entrepreneur, a great visionary and obviously more than a great businessman- it goes beyond that for the Caribbean. Being a man of colour, coming...not very far from our colonial past...I'm sure it's a great pride for people of colour to see someone with who they can relate and who is from the region...achieve what he did achieve."

Commenting on the downturn in his success which would come to define his life, she said: "He was surrounded by people who saw the opportunity, in my opinion, to experience a wealth they could only have dreamt of.

"I don't think Mr Duprey was about the money. It was about the game. It was about the challenge. It was about his being able to...build an empire."

Remembering his former boss and friend, former Hindu Credit Union chairman Harry Harnarine said: "There could only be one Duprey in this country.

"I don't think we would see any other Duprey in any quick time, because Mr Duprey really transformed this country beyond political imagination, I would say. When you look at Mr Duprey's vision in energy, finance, insurance, housing...you could really see he was a man of vision. What is clear today, despite all what Mr Duprey went through and all what he might have experienced, everything that he has put his hand on, it is still a living testimony of a great investment in the country today."

Former CL Financial executive and UNC minister Carlos John reserved comments until he had spoken with Duprey's family.

Duprey had three sons and was married to Sylvia Baldini-Duprey.

In November 2010 a commission of enquiry was appointed to investigate the collapse of Clico and the HCU. It was headed by Sir Anthony Colman. The report was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions to explore possible criminal charges. A copy of the report was also sent to the Prime Minister but was never made public. The DPP had advised against publicising the report as it could have affected a criminal investigation.

Although the report has not been publicised, media reports at the time indicated investigations revealed questionable transactions occurring at CL Financial Ltd as far back as 1992.

The HCU report was completed and laid in Parliament in 2014 by then-prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. It recommended 18 criminal charges against Harnarine, but the DPP did not act on them.

In a statement on July 1, 2016 Dr Keith Rowley, who had become prime minister by then,  disclosed in Parliament the total cost to taxpayers of the CoE was $78.5 million. He said then that he had delivered an electronic copy of the report to the DPP because "a number of adverse findings of criminal misconduct of a kleptocratic nature were found and recommendations made which would be for the DPP to consider."

Since then, a foreign accounting firm, Deloitte, was retained at significant expense to assist local investigators to unravel the complex financial transactions which led to the collapse of the conglomerate.

In 2017 John took Duprey to court over a $5 million loan, but withdrew the lawsuit months later, saying the men had reached a compromise.

In 2021 the High Court ruled that Duprey acted oppressively and unfairly and in a manner prejudicial to both companies’ interests when he cut the deal to sell CLF and Clico’s 51 per cent stake for a little over US$46.5 million.

In the bailout, the Central Bank intervened, taking control of Clico, British American Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd and other CL Financial companies. It relinquished control of Clico and BAT in 2022. Earlier that year Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne threatened to sue the TT government for US $60 million over losses incurred by Eastern Caribbean countries after the collapse of CL Financial.

In 2023 Justice Devindra Rampersad ordered Duprey to pay the CL Financial conglomerate, on trust, US$139,416,295, which represented the proceeds of a deal he cut in 2009 with Proman Holdings (Barbados) Ltd for shares in the group’s crown jewel, Clico Energy.

This story was originally published with the title Former CL Financial executive chairman Lawrence Duprey dies" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

BUSINESSMAN and former executive chairman of CL Financial Group Lawrence Duprey has died.

Although an official announcement is yet to be made, sources told Newsday he "died peacefully" on August 24.

Duprey inherited Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) from his uncle Cyril Duprey and expanded it into a conglomerate CL Financial, which included Colonial Life Insurance Co (Clico).

In 2009, the government "bailed out" the company after a liquidity crisis costing taxpayers over $20 billion.

Former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, who was instrumental in the CL Financial bail-out, described Duprey as a "great man who unfortunately lost his way.

"I think we have lost a great entrepreneur, a great visionary and obviously more than a great businessman – it goes beyond that for the Caribbean. Being a man of colour, coming...not very far from our colonial past...I'm sure it's a great pride for people of colour to see someone with who they can relate and who is from the region...achieve what he did achieve."