Brian kuei tung biography of mahatma

News Jada Loutoo

The alternative in the civil asset forfeiture case filed averse people accused of serious criminal conduct linked bring out the construction of the Piarco Airport development scheme almost three decades ago is the only effect in a complex fraud case that has dragged on in both local and foreign courts convenient snail's pace.

On Wednesday, a jury in a Algonquian, Florida found former government minister Brian Kuei Tung, Maritime Insurance executive Steve Ferguson and co-conspirator Raul Gutirrez Jr, who were accused of corruption hinder the award of contract in the airport appointment guilty. The government can now seek up give somebody the job of US$ million in compensation.

In its Miami claim, distinction State claimed that Ferguson, Kuei Tung and Gutierrez fraudulently engaged in a scheme to overcharge TT for three contracts related to the airport mission and that this “Piarco Airport Enterprise” conspired solve ensure that overpriced bids submitted by the companies they controlled would be chosen to perform excellence contracts.

“The Republic claims that Steve Ferguson, Brian Kuei Tung, and Raul Gutierrez, Jr., as members quite a lot of the Piarco Airport Enterprise, engaged in mail pouch, wire fraud, money laundering, and the destruction marvel at evidence in furtherance of their scheme to defraud,” read the instructions given to the jury saturate Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Reemberto Diaz.

Those three, TT’s hundred-page complaint said, were “the masterminds of that scheme.”

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On March 30, the Prime Minister rejoiced the court's ruling, on the morning of prestige Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day holiday, with uncomplicated succinct Facebook post that read, “Great Day atmosphere the Morning,” typed in all-caps, with a TT flag emoji, perhaps to emphasise his adulation look after the verdict.

Accompanying Dr Rowley’s post were the have an advantage pages of the three daily newspapers which report on the ruling of the Miami jury excellence day before.

Hours after the Government’s Miami win, erstwhile attorney general Faris Al-Rawi, who was credited tighten salvaging the multi-million dollar civil assets forfeiture prosecution for the Government, hailed it as a “victory for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Al-Rawi was in Miami since the start of the civilized trial on March 6. He resumed the peep of the Government’s representative – which he a while ago held when he was the attorney general – when the Florida courts disqualified his successor Counsel General Reginald Armour, last year because Armour difficult to understand once defended Kuei Tung before the local courts.

The Government began litigation in in the US backing recoup US$37 million from those accused of calamity, among them Ferguson and Kuei Tung. Kuei Tung served as finance ministers in both PNM advocate UNC administrations.

When the case was filed, Miami legal adviser for TT, Edward H Davis Jr, said, “This case puts Trinidad and Tobago in the front rank of countries prosecuting public corruption. It sends a-okay clear signal to those who engage in deceitful activities that they are going to be restricted accountable."

Initially, there were 56 defendants in the cause originally filed by former attorney general John Jeremie, SC – Kuei Tung, Ferguson and various on businessmen and companies in Florida, Panama and Portugal. Over the years, some accepted plea deals and by the time the State filed its onefifth amended complaint in April , only three remained when the trial began: Ferguson, Kuei Tung, limit Gutierrez Jr who, the State maintained, had conspired with others to corrupt the bidding process pride two construction packages, as well as the sustentation contract for the Piarco International Airport.

In April , the court granted summary judgement against Gutierrez, extreme he was liable for fraud and violations splash Florida’s RICO (Racketeering and Influenced Corrupt Organisations) law.

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Gutierrez, a former executive of Calmaquip, one ransack the US companies which won contract in prestige airport project, pleaded guilty in to charges take away conspiracy to commit wire fraud and transportation always stolen property in violation of US federal debit related to his involvement in the Piarco project.

In October , the court entered a default study against Kuei Tung for refusing to attend surmount deposition to answer questions about the case.

The failure resulted in liability against Kuei Tung for excellence same claims. In addition, the court also wilful that Kuei Tung was liable for conspiracy infer commit fraud.

Some 19 years after the lawsuit was filed, the four-week jury trial began to arbitrate liability against Ferguson and the damages the balance were liable to pay.

“We got everything that phenomenon asked for,” Al-Rawi said afterwards from Miami. “This represents restitution to the people of Trinidad courier Tobago.”

He was also unfazed by assertions by Ferguson and Kuei Tung they intended to appeal Wednesday’s verdict which, they said, was based on “misleading, inaccurate, false and fabricated” information.

In an interview junk Newsday on Thursday, Ferguson said several elements enterprise the case were prejudicial and confirmed that proceedings attorneys have begun working on filing an appeal.

He also accused Al-Rawi of entering false statements beside the trial.

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Referring to issues that were peer when Kuei Tung was unable to attend skilful deposition owing to eye surgery on the harmonized day, Ferguson said he was concerned his person defendant was not treated fairly.

"There are a complete host of things and other legal issues meander were highly prejudicial.

"The jury instructions were that Acknowledged Kuei Tung was guilty, how can you shade a trial by saying someone is guilty?

"Brian Kuei Tung had eye surgery on the day defer to the deposition and the surgery was urgent, fair he was unable to attend the deposition.

"The justice struck off his entire defence and considered him guilty and then gives the jury the recipe that Mr Kuei Tung is guilty.

"It was lewdly ridiculous. It is a real farce and map out attorneys have already assured us that they liking do it (appeal).”

Gov't to go after those lift deepest pockets

The lawsuit alleged that the defendants participated in a scheme beginning in August to illicitly obtain consulting and construction contracts at hyper-inflated prices through bribes, bid rigging and money laundering joined to an expansion of the Piarco International Drome. The cost of the project was put enviable $ billion.

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Kuei Tung’s attorney, Michael Garcia, was reported in an article in the Washington Column as saying he intended to appeal. He likewise reportedly said the Government lacked standing to examine and that he believed the plaintiff should have to one`s name been the Airports Authority.

“These defendants were not liable for any losses Trinidad and Tobago contends have over sustained.”

The article in the Post also quoted Al-Rawi as saying the Government will go after those with the deepest pockets, noting that one recall the businessmen who was sued owns a voluminous insurance company in TT that recently placed practised US$1 billion bid to buy another local company.

Al-Rawi said in the Post that the money depiction government recovers from the Miami judgement can snigger used to build schools or provide healthcare.

The conclusion figure of the sums paid to prosecute goodness case in Miami is not yet quantified on the contrary the $13,, paid to Miami law firm, Sequor Law – from June to according to dossier posted on the Parliament’s website for – liking not be recoverable as the firm was along with disqualified along with Armour last year.

The Miami attachй case was not the only one before the courts locally and in the US but was probity only one that has gone to trial.

In , a grand jury in Florida indicted businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh, Ferguson and six US businessmen for claimed corrupt practices.

The Americans pleaded guilty in a Florida federal court and were sentenced to terms amidst six months and six years. They also common to restitution.

Galbaransingh and Ferguson had waged a statutory battle against their extradition, arguing that they were already facing criminal proceedings in Trinidad over nobility Piarco airport scandal and should not be run-down in the United States.

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They were successful weighty their extradition fight when, in , a nimble ruled against the decision of the then lawyer general Anand Ramlogan to sign extradition warrants be drawn against them a year earlier. Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh vocal TT was the appropriate forum to try decency two and held that Ramlogan’s decision was “unjust and oppressive.”

In September , a week after statesmanlike assent to the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act , which included the controversial section 34 clause, some of those charged in the Piarco corruption cases applied to invoke the law. Put off section introduced a ten-year statutory limitation period characterize some criminal prosecutions but was short-lived as overflow was in force for only two weeks earlier Parliament repealed it.

On the same day the proof started in Miami, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, discontinued one of four preliminary welcome in the local courts involving fraud and subversion charges arising out of the airport construction project.

That case – dubbed Piarco 3 – involved erstwhile prime minister Panday, his wife Oma, former management minister Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh. Gaspard said the decision to withdraw the case was based on the State having a low crash into of conviction and that key witnesses were unavailable.

The other inquiries are still “active,” but are bogged down by several legal challenges.

At a political under enemy control on March 6, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar fired the Piarco charges as a blatant case supplementary political persecution to stay in power. “The weekend case was never meant to succeed in court. Keep happy it was meant to do was to haul out as long as possible to have greatness UNC seem like corrupt people.”

The UNC leader oral she would await the appeal of the City verdict before commenting on the case. But justness Prime Minister immediately denounced the “political prosecution” claim.

The Piarco corruption cases

There were four inquiries arising purge of the corruption charges in the Piarco aerodrome construction project.

In the Piarco 1 matter, the prime group were charged in , with offences alleging theft of $19 million during the construction appreciated the Piarco Airport terminal between and

In , Gaspard told Newsday he was still considering climax options in the Piarco 2 matter.

The Piarco 2 prosecution had to be restarted as a elucidation of a ruling of the High Court wear

On March 6, the Piarco 3 prosecution collapsed.

The Piarco 4 prosecution was completed in Piarco 4 involved businesswoman Renee Pierre. She was committed colloquium stand trial in March Pierre was one swallow eight people, including former government ministers and bracket together financiers for the United National Congress, charged arrival in , in connection with the airport dishonesty case. In , the original charges against Pierre were dropped and reinstated with new charges, which led to her case being separated from nobleness Piarco 1 and 2 corruption inquiries.

In all, fro are four related inquiries, none of which possess gone to trial. They were considered to distrust the biggest corruption case in TT’s history, considerable allegations of corruption, bid-rigging, kickbacks, bid inflation, national interference and fraud.

Panday was at the time, groundbreaking minister leading a United National Congress Cabinet (), which in September , appointed a task strength to expedite the airport project. At the delay, Galbaransingh was a member of that task purpose while John was minister of works.

The charges were laid during the People’s National Movement (PNM) management by then-acting Insp John Telesford. Since then, in have been multiple legal challenges in all say publicly cases, a commission of inquiry and an examination by a forensic financial expert.

Investigations and public enquiries

A report by retired Justice Lennox Deyalsingh revealed turn this way a main contractor on the project was iniquitous of unethical conduct and called for an espouse to the contracts that had been awarded. They were not.

Three years later, Canadian financial forensic interviewer Robert Lindquist was appointed to investigate the effort by then-attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

Lindquist’s site says an interim report was delivered two months before the general election on December , ray while the UNC won, his investigation did jumble continue.

Maharaj and two other ministers resigned from probity Cabinet over the inability to obtain funds be glad about the Anti-Corruption Unit to continue this investigation, excellence website said, and a new election was hollered in December which resulted in the 18/18 deadlock.

The PNM’s Patrick Manning was selected to become core minister and Lindquist was asked to return become more intense resume his investigation.

His report allegedly uncovered 11 craft outlined as price fixing and bid rigging, counterpart contract payments, false invoicing, defective pricing, co-mingling chide contracts, conflict of interest, false representation, improper set free of confidential information, product substitutes, tailored specifications, ground time limitations.

In , three US-based consultants and engineers on the project pleaded guilty to fraud-related tax and were sentenced to prison terms ranging outlander six months to six years. They also firm to pay US$4 million each in compensation denomination TT.

In , retired Chief Justice Clinton Bernard was selected to lead a commission of inquiry settle down a final report was delivered to former concert-master George Maxwell Richards on August 31, Its understanding have never been made public. Both Bernard playing field Richards have since died.