The UNC leader had been previously insisting, for example, that the account had always belonged to his wife and he had only recently become a signatory although remaining ignorant of its contents.

On Tuesday evening, however, he reversed that position by announcing he had opened the account himself in 1989 prior to undergoing open heart surgery and had made his wife a signatory on the eve of the actual operation. Since then, he says, Mrs Panday has managed the account and he has remained oblivious to its contents.

All this, however is totally irrelevant to the issue at hand, and what is even more disturbing is that as an attorney, a legislator and former prime minister, Mr Panday must know this. Under the Integrity in Public Life Act, which Mr Panday championed, the UNC leader is required to declare the assets of his wife and children. It is impossible to believe that Mr Panday does not know this and it is totally besides the point whether he is the beneficial owner of the account or not.

Despite his semantics, the UNC leader has not denied the accuracy of the figures cited as deposits to the account (rather than the current balance) and has made much ado of the fact that he has no million dollar account in London, leaving open the question as to whether there could be million dollar accounts elsewhere. MORE