TPHL seeks legal advice on Patriotic refinery bid documents’

Senior Reporter

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

While the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) has vehemently denied that its company, Patriotic Energies Service Co Ltd, submitted any fraudulent documents to acquire the mothballed Guaracara Refinery, Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL) says it received the paperwork and was currently seeking legal advice on the matter.

TPHL issued a media release addressing allegations related to a fraudulent US transfer of funds, which Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young raised during his Budget debate contribution in Parliament last week. According to TPHL, it is in possession of a document submitted by Patriotic in support of its non-binding offer for the Guaracara Refinery.

The document was specifically identified as evidence of a wire transfer of US$1.5 billion to a local bank, with Patriotic Energies and Technology Co Ltd listed as the beneficiary.

“Information to hand suggests that there was no such transfer. Accordingly, the document has been referred to the company’s legal advisers and relevant authorities for advice, including whether any offence has been committed and to determine what further actions may be warranted,” TPHL said.

However, OWTU president general Ancel Roget remained unfazed by the release, which came while he held a media conference at the union’s headquarters at the Paramount Building, San Fernando.

Roget responded that TPHL’s statement appeared to back Minister Young’s position, but noted that Patriotic was also seeking legal advice regarding Young’s actions and for a recall of the bidding process.

He argued that the document Young referred to had not been submitted to the Cabinet-appointed evaluation committee for the refinery transaction.

“We expect them to say and do all kinds of things. We do not have an issue with that. But again, we want to make the point that categorically, at the stage on August 3rd and August 21, what was to be considered and submitted by Patriotic was nothing that they are referring to,” Roget said.

Roget further challenged the evaluation committee, which includes TPHL director Selwyn Lashley, to clarify whether Patriotic had presented any fraudulent documents.

He reiterated that Young’s claims were misleading, mischievous, and calculated to discredit Patriotic as the preferred bidder, and challenged him to repeat his allegations outside the protection of Parliament. Roget warned that there was ministerial overreach and interference in what was supposed to be an independent process.

He explained that in a review of Patriotic’s financiers, three were deemed unsuitable, leading the company to replace them on August 3 with a completely new financial partner.

“Any reference to anything prior to the initial stages is irrelevant and should be rejected and discarded,” Roget said.

He also questioned how Young had obtained information about the wire transfer from Scotiabank International, which should have been confidential.

Roget criticised what he called the Government’s selective transparency, noting that when people asked about Government actions, officials often claim that Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) prevented the release of certain information.

While Young made his accusations on Friday, Roget revealed that OWTU received a bundle of documents detailing alleged inducements involving party financing for government officials, allegedly to secure favour in the refinery bid.

Roget clarified that he was not accusing any government official of corruption, malfeasance, or accepting bribes. He clarified that OWTU would conduct its utmost diligence on the matter, notwithstanding the possibility of being labelled as “Enemies of the State,” comparing it to the 1998 film of the same name.

“We are doing our due diligence on this, and at the appropriate time, we are going to release the information. You will know who wanted or paid who, who influenced, and who induced whom to be chosen as the preferred bidder,” Roget promised.

Roget also shared that the OWTU had been in discussions with the United National Congress (UNC) to develop a strategy for restoring good governance.

After a series of intense meetings, Roget expressed confidence that the UNC would honour its workers’ agenda.

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