|
8 Charged in $1.6 billion Feeding Frenzy
Posted: Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Piarco Airport Corruption Inquiry
Top left: Ishwar Galbaransingh, Kuei Tung, Renee Pierre, Sadiq Baksh.
Bottom left: Ameer Edoo, Steve Ferguson, Edward Bayley, Tyrone Gopee.
Charges were laid against a former ministers and key financiers of the United National Congress.
Those charged with corruption relating to the new Terminal Development Project at Piarco Airport were: former Government Minister Brian Kuei Tung; Kuei Tung's girlfriend Renee Pierre; former Airport Authority Chairman Ameer Edo & Tyrone Goopee;and former NIPDEC chairman Edward Bailey. Ish Galbaransingh, CEO of Northern Construction Limited (NCL); Steve Ferguson, chairman of Maritime Group of Companies; and Amrith Maharaj, financial comptroller of NCL, were also charged.
Renee Pierre, Ameer Edo, Tyrone Goopee,and Edward Bayley are charged with unlawfully conspiring to obtain contracts and payment or settlements to the tune of 1.6 billion. Former Minister Sadiq Baskh and The United National Congress were also named as having conspired with the accused to defraud the state.
In addition to the previous charges, Brian Kuei Tung was also slapped with 5 other charges for fraudulently receiving gifts and money totaling 2.4 million from Northern Construction Limited (NCL) for allegedly favoring NCL for contracts in the Airport project.
Ish Galbaransingh, Steve Ferguson and Amrith Maharaj were also charged with receiving money for companies falsely alleged to have been sub-contracted by NCL. Other charges include giving millions of US dollars to Kuei Tung to purchase property in Florida, and to favor NCL for project contracts.
Co-Conspirators:
Northern Construction Limited (NCL)
Calmaquip Engineering Corp
Birk Hillman Consultants Incorporated
Maritime General Insurance Company
Maritime Life Caribbean Limited
Fidelity Finance and Leasing Co LTD
United National Congress
Ghost Firms: The great Airport scam
FORMER government ministers, key financiers of the United National Congress, the political party itself and several other business people conspired together and allegedly formed ghost companies which collected millions of dollars from the Airports Authority for work not done during the construction of the new Piarco Airport Terminal, and the money gained was then allegedly split among themselves.
This forms the genesis of the new charges laid against eight of the named alleged conspirators who appeared in court yesterday, some of whom are already before the court on other unrelated charges relating to the same project. Full Article
Kuei Tung faces 16 charges
Former Government Minister Brian Kuei Tung appeared at Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday for the second time, to answer 16 corruption charges involving $1.6 billion, arising out of the second phase of police investigations into the Piarco Airport development project. He is jointly charged with his girlfriend and businesswoman Renee Pierre, former Airports Authority chairmen Tyrone Gopee and Ameer Edoo and former Nipdec chairman Edward Bayley. Full Article
Businessmen granted $5.5m bail
Three businessmen were granted $5.5 million bail yesterday, after answering charges of alleged corruption arising out of the Piarco Airport development project. Ishwar Galbaransingh and Amrith Maharaj, chairman and CEO of Northern Construction respectively, and Maritime executive Steve Ferguson appeared before Magistrate Avason Quinlan in Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Four B Court, where the charges were read out to them. Full Article
Baksh on $2m fraud charge
UNC Senator Sadiq Baksh has been charged with corruptly receiving an estimated $2 million from Northern Construction Ltd, principal contractor on the Piarco Airport Development Project. It is alleged the money went into the coffers of the UNC. Baksh, a former Works and Transport Minister under the UNC administration during whose term the Piarco terminal was built at an estimated $1.6 billion, is expected to surrender today after arrest warrants were issued for him yesterday. Full Article
Corruption Inquiry
Former Government Ministers To Be Charged
 Send page by E-Mail
|
|
