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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