Harnarine claims innocence as CoE report goes public

Former Hindu Credit Union president Harry Harnarine. -

FORMER president of the now-defunct Hindu Credit Union (HCU Harry Harnarine has declared his innocence with respect to the findings of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the collapse of Colonial Life Insurance Company (Clico) and the Hindu Credit Union (HCU).

He made this comment on January 17, in response to comments made by Attorney General John Jeremie when he laid the CoE reports on Clico and HCU in the House of Representatives on January 16.

In a brief telephone interview, Harnarine said, "I haven't done anything wrong."

He added he has nothing to hide and attended all of the CoE's hearings when he was called to appear as a witness.

Former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, former Finance Ministry permanent secretary Vishnu Dhanpaul and Harnarine were among the witnesses appearing in the CoE's hearings.

In the HCU report, the CoE said some of the depositors affected by its collapse could be entitled to certain civil remedies which may be available to the Attorney General.

"Those depositors who are owners of investment deposits in HCU and who have been determined to be eligible to receive grant relief up to $75,000 from GORTT (Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) under the Grant Relief Payment Scheme are to assign or have already assigned to GORTT all benefits, entitlements, interests in and under their respective investment deposits."

The CoE said there is legislation which allows the Commissioner for Cooperative Development (CCD) to investigate circumstances under which HCU officers or directors could be guilty of misfeasance or breach of trust in relation to the credit union.

The CoE added should the CCD decide to accede to any such application, "he may make an order requiring that person to repay or restore such money or property with interest to the assets of HCU or to contribute to assets of HCU by way of compensation in regard to any such misapplication, retainer, dishonesty or breach of trust as the CCD may find to be established."

In the HCU report, the CoE continued, there was insufficient oral and documentary evidence available to it at the end of its hearings.

The CoE suggested this could provide a basis for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to take "immediate steps to test the sustainability of criminal proceedings against them."

The CoE said, "This report does not name those individuals or identify their conduct for to do so would be inappropriate, having regard to the fact that they were not made parties to the enquiry and did not voluntarily tender evidence or otherwise participate, although all of them were given ample opportunity to do so."

Harnarine repeated his hope that his name would be cleared in this matter.

In an interview in January 2020, Harnarine said he wrote to three separate labour ministers (Rennie Dumas, now deceased, Errol McLeod and Jennifer Baptiste-Primus seeking a hearing of his appeal of the winding up of the company."

At that time, Harnarine said he could prove that HCU was and is not insolvent, so the decision to wind up the company was flawed.

McLeod said he could not recall any appeal request, but could not say that it did not take place. Baptiste-Primus said that the matter was not under her purview but should be dealt with by the CCD.

In the Clico report, the CoE attributed the collapse of Clico and other companies which were part of the CL Financial Group (CLF) to a defective business model which the group used and "the failure of senior management to act to change it and the methods of corporate governance in accordance with the requirements of the CBTT (Central Bank of TT) and the recommendations of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the external auditors.

The CoE said it did not find any fault with respect to the conduct of the Central Bank relating to CL Financial’s insurance company Clico.

The commission was critical of the conduct of Clico and CLF chairman Lawrence Duprey, who died in August 2024.

"His conduct was such that the DPP should take immediate steps to test the sustainability of criminal proceedings against him."

Harnarine said the one mistake which Duprey made was not to attend the CoE hearings.

Former prime minister Stuart Young, former attorney general Reginald Armour, SC, Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland and Speaker of the House of Representatives Jagdeo Singh were some of the attorneys who represented clients in these hearings.

Clico and HCU collapsed in 2009, causing a major financial crisis.

The collapse was attributed to heavy investment in high-risk assets like foreign real estate, financed by high-interest strategies, creating an unsustainable financial structure.