Ramsaran's Dairy founder claims Imbert breached right to privacy

RAMSARAN's Dairy Products (RDP) founder Rajnanan Ramsaran has claimed that Finance Minister Colm Imbert may have breached his company's right to privacy by asking the EximBank whether or not the company made a request for foreign exchange (forex) from the bank.

He expressed concern this could leave his family, company and its employees vulnerable to exploitation by criminal elements.

Ramsaran has asked his attorney to investigate the legal ramifications of this breach and what can be done to address it.

In a statement issued on October 30, Ramsaran claimed that Imbert has misrepresented RDP's pursuit of transparency with respect to forex distribution.

"At no time, did I suggest that I applied for forex support through EximBank."

Ramsaran questioned whether inquiries Imbert made about whether his company approached the bank to request forex constituted a significant breach of confidentiality.

"I call on the Minister to disclose whom he contacted, how he conducted these inquiries and by what authority he made these disclosures public."

He claimed that by doing this, Imbert exposed RDP to potential security risks.

"Such disclosures, especially without consent, risk the safety and security of my business, family and employees, by creating vulnerabilities that could be exploited by criminal elements."

Ramsaran said, "On behalf of the company, this is viewed as a direct breach of our right to privacy."

He added that he will ask his attorney Richard Jagassar "to investigate the legal ramifications of this disclosure and what action can be taken to address these serious breach."

Ramsaran repeated that the information he is seeking through the FOI requests sent to different entities is related to the distribution of forex and whether there is a fair system for its distribution where local producers are concerned.

He said the fact that Imbert could make the inquiries he did at the EximBank with respect to RDP requesting access to forex, suggests there is a system to monitor forex distribution.

Ramsaran hoped the public understood the importance of equitable forex distribution and that his efforts "are rooted in securing fair treatment for all of us."

In a post on X on October 29, Imbert said he checked with the EximBank

He added that based on his inquiries, he was told that Ramsaran has " never applied to the EximBank for access to forex."

He made this comment to letters written by Ramsaran to the Central Bank, Auditor General and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on October 25 about the lack of information on the distribution of forex.

The letters also follow a judicial review challenge over the inability to source foreign exchange to import paper-based cartons for a new water product.

Ramsaran has also written to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for assistance in this matter

He complained that forex in TT was not equally distributed and had sent freedom of information (FOI) requests for the policy surrounding the distribution of forex.

The issue of a scarcity of forex was raised between October 26-27.

Businessmen complained of problems importing essential food items, warning that a shortage in access to forex could soon lead to shortages in food.