Port-of-Spain: The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is now considering whether to lay criminal charges against the former Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Teshiera for a breach of the Intergrity in Public Life Act over the withdrawal of funds from Clico just prior to the annoncement of the company's collapse.
The Integrity Commission has found that there is enough evidence of a conflict of interest to warrant the attention of the DPP. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcment in Parliament today.
Nunez-Teshiera was the Finance Minister during the time the Government sought to bail out Clico but soon information came out revealing that she had millions of dollars in the beleagured company that she withdrew just days before the announcement was made public.
If the DPP finds enough evidence to prosecute the former minister she could face a maximum sentence of two years in prison, a sentence last handed down to former UNC Prime Minister Basdeo Panday by former Chief Magistrate Sherman McNichols, a sentence that was quashed by the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial that began in June this year.
Nunez-Teshiera, however, says she had in fact been requested to submit documents to the Integrity Commission on the conflict of interest investigation.
She says submitted the documents three weeks ago and had received no information from the Integrity Commission since then.
There has been no official response from the office of the DPP on the status of the investigation.
You must be logged in to post a comment.