Cepep threatens to sue ex-chairman over contract extensions

Attorneys for state-owned Cepep Company Ltd have sent a legal warning to its former chairman Joel Edwards, accusing him of misleading the company’s board into extending hundreds of contracts worth about $1.4 billion.

In a pre-action letter on July 25, attorney Jarrd Jagroo, who is led by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan of Freedom Law Chambers, claims Edwards wrongly told the board that cabinet had approved the extensions, which locked the company into long-term commitments until 2029.

The letter said the statement was false and amounted to fraud, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.

Cepep’s CEO Keith Eddy has said Edwards assured him cabinet approval was granted, citing then-line minister Faris Al-Rawi as the source. WhatsApp messages from April 2025, allegedly sent by Edwards, also state that “pursuant to cabinet approval, we are extending contracts…for a further period of 3 years.”

The messages have been filed in Cepep’s defence of a lawsuit by a Laventille contractor challenging the termination of contracts.

Edwards has denied wrongdoing, saying the board note contained an error that he ordered corrected. But Cepep insists no correction was ever made and the company acted on Edwards’ instructions, believing it was carrying out cabinet’s decision.

The letter accused Edwards of failing to act in Cepep’s best interest and exposing the company to lawsuits, legal costs, and reputational damage. Cepep said it would seek to make him personally liable for any losses.

Eddy said he refused to sign off on a three-year extension of hundreds of contractor agreements, citing concerns about committing the government to a billion dollar bill.

Eddy said he faced “intense pressure” to approve the extensions and add new contractors, but no written proof of cabinet approval or additional funding was ever provided.

He said the Ministry of Finance had previously flagged “unjustified and uncontrolled expenditure” and “major discrepancies” in Cepep’s accounts, prompting him to refer the matter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the DPP, and the Integrity Commission.

Eddy, who has led Cepep since 2016, claimed he stood firm despite pressure ahead of the general election, warning that extending all contracts en masse without prior authorisation would be “unethical, if not illegal.”

He said any suggestion he approved the move was “false and fabricated.”

Eddy’s affidavit was filed as Cepep defends itself against a lawsuit by Eastman Enterprises Ltd, which claims its contracts were wrongfully terminated, leaving thousands of workers unpaid. Cepep alleges its former board improperly extended 336 contracts worth about $400 million until 2029 based on false claims of cabinet approval and has launched a probe into “political fraud.”

Edwards denied cabinet approval was necessary and said a mistaken board note was corrected. The case, before Justice Margaret Mohammed, resumes on August 8 to address preliminary issues raised by Cepep who said the contractor's concerns should have been taken to mediation instead of the court as the contract allowed.