AG: Warner’s fate in balance

“Mr Warner has not been proven to have committed any sin as yet,” Ramlogan told reporters at his ministry’s Indian Arrival Day celebrations at Cabildo Chambers, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain.

“For now, Minister Warner remains one of the better performing ministers in the Government and one of the more popular ministers that we have and he remains a very integral and critical part of the Government.

“FIFA is not run by any government and is not part of any government so it would be premature for us as a Government to make any pronouncement adverse to Minister Warner in a matter that we know nothing about,” Ramlogan said.

But Ramlogan added, “If however, there are findings that impugns his integrity that is a different matter because that may very well be a matter for the Prime Minister in her capacity as leader of the Government to consider.”

Asked if allegations against Warner were akin to allegations against former planning minister Mary King, who was sacked earlier this month, Ramlogan said the cases were different as in the King matter all of the relevant facts were known and admitted to by King.

“Mary King was part of the Government. The ministry was part of the Government and we knew what had happened in that matter and the facts need not be repeated here but we knew,” he said.

Ramlogan noted that the latest allegations of bribery in relation to the FIFA presidential elections due to take place next week, were not the first time Warner, a FIFA vice-president, had been accused of wrong at FIFA.