LAWRENCE DUPREY PASSES

CCNTV6

Lawrence Duprey  has died. He would have celebrated his 90th birthday next month. While the exact details surrounding his death are still emerging, we look back on a life that impacted  the country....moreso the financial sector. Joel Julien Business Editor of the Express reports..

Transcript

00:00Lawrence Dupre's name may evoke different sentiments from different people but his

00:06impact on this country's business landscape is undeniable. His journey into

00:10the spotlight began with his uncle Cyril Dupre. In 1936 Cyril Dupre founded the

00:16country's first locally owned insurance company, Colonial Life Insurance Company.

00:21What started as a life insurance provider grew into a major player in the

00:26Caribbean financial sector. Following Cyril Dupre's death in 1988, his nephew

00:32Lawrence inherited Clico. In 1993 Lawrence Dupre formed CL Financial, a

00:39conglomerate that initially served as a holding company for Clico. At its peak, CL

00:45Financial boasted more than 65 companies across 32 countries with assets

00:50exceeding 100 billion US dollars. However in January 2009 things changed when

00:56then Finance Minister Karen Nunes Tichera, with Lawrence Dupre present, announced a

01:01major crisis in the CL Financial group, necessitating intervention by the

01:05Central Bank and the government. On February 13, 2009 the Central Bank of

01:11Trinidad and Tobago took control of Clico under Section 44D of the Central

01:16Bank Act to protect policyholders and prevent significant disruption to the

01:21financial system. The state initially pumped some five billion dollars into

01:26Clico. In October 2010, Prime Minister Kamala Prasad Bisesa ordered a

01:31commission of inquiry into the failure of CL Financial and the Hindu Credit

01:35Union Cooperative Society. Lawrence Dupre submitted a witness statement but did

01:40not attend the inquiry. In his statement he described himself as a hard-working

01:45individual who contributed to job creation and wealth generation. Harry

01:51Harnarine, the former president of the Hindu Credit Union, agrees with that.

01:56Harnarine, who said he spent half his life in Clico, described Dupre as a

02:01visionary leader. I can tell you that I have not seen and I don't expect to see

02:06anybody that is visionary and patriotic like that of Mr. Lawrence Dupre. Nunes Tichera

02:12has called for full disclosure of the Commission's report. Whilst he said she

02:16did not have a close relationship with Dupre, she acknowledged his role in

02:19improving living standards for many. Nunes Tichera said, quote, Mr. Dupre's

02:25passing is indeed sad and it is also a loss. On November 27, 2019, Finance Minister

02:33Colm Imbod told the House of Representatives that CL Financial and

02:36Clico owed the state about 23.1 billion dollars. By September 2020, Imbod placed

02:43the amount owed by CL Financial to the government at 30 billion dollars.

02:47Additionally, Dupre was involved in a controversial issue regarding a 1.3

02:52million dollar scholarship for former Prime Minister Bastio Pandey's daughters

02:55studying in London. Pandey was later acquitted for failing to declare his

03:00assets. Lawrence Dupre's passing marks the end of an era for the country's

03:05financial sector. We will continue to follow this story and provide updates as

03:10they become available. Joel Julian, TV6 News.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended