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  • 2 days ago
The Government says it has moved to protect the country's economic interests by bringing long-running, high-stakes litigation involving CL Financial to an end. CL Financial Limited has now agreed to sell disputed shares to Proman Holdings Barbados Limited, avoiding further legal risk at the Privy Council.

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00:00CL Financial has agreed to the sale of disputed shares to Proman Holdings Barbados Limited,
00:07bringing to a close a major legal battle that had been before the Privy Council
00:12and posed significant financial risk to the state.
00:17According to the government, one of the first challenges it confronted upon assuming office
00:21was the appeal by Proman against CL Financial and its related companies,
00:27a matter described by the courts as high-stakes litigation involving major players in regional industry.
00:35The dispute centered on a February 2009 agreement under which CL Financial, perpetually acting,
00:43through then-Chairman Lawrence Dupre, sought to transfer a 51% shareholding in Clico Energy Company Limited,
00:51now Proman Energy Trading Limited, to Proman for just over US$46 million.
00:58The transaction was later challenged in the High Court.
01:02In September 2021, Justice Devendra Rampassad ruled that the transfer was invalid,
01:09ordering Proman to return the shares to CL Financial and to account for dividends and distributions.
01:15Those sums were later valued at more than US$185 million plus interest.
01:23The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal, which described the matter as full-blown adversarial litigation.
01:30Proman subsequently took the case to the Privy Council.
01:33Upon taking office, the government, now the majority stakeholder and largest creditor of CL Financial,
01:40sought advice from senior King's counsel in London on the likelihood of success before the Apex Court.
01:48Following that advice and amid concerns that key findings could be overturned, negotiations were resumed.
01:55With the agreement of the liquidator and the sanction of the court, CL Financial ultimately agreed to sell the disputed shares to Proman,
02:03effectively compromising the Privy Council proceedings.
02:06The government says the move allowed it to recover significant funds while avoiding the financial and legal risks
02:13associated with continuing litigation before the Privy Council.
02:18Arashita Wari, Rubnarine, TV6 News.
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