Clico then and now

“On regulation, let me quote a report, and this is from our largest insurance company. This is a report from the Supervisor of Insurance (a public document), which relates to the year of business 1997… It says here: “1. The relative inability of the company to satisfy its statutory fund: 1992 — $62,462,192 deficit; 1993 — $1,383,324 deficit; 1994 — $3,315,933 surplus; 1995 — $64,704,595 deficit.

“2. The insistence on the part of the company to pay dividends, contrary to the law. A company should not pay a dividend if its fund is in deficit. However, the company paid dividends in each year except 1992.

“3. The company consistently failed to submit an acceptable actuarial certificate. The certificates submitted were not prepared according to the Act. Our consulting actuaries have repeatedly made this observation, ie, the liability appeared to be understated which prima facie makes the deficit in the fund worse than that which meets the eye.

“4. The company has been technically insolvent. For the years 1992-1995, the margin of technical insolvency was as follows: 1992 — $63,655,902; 1993 — $113,557,865; 1994 — $84,740,153; 1995 — $390,173,666.

“5. The company continues to use policy holders’ funds to offer guarantees to affiliates.

“6. The consulting actuaries have repeatedly stated that Clico, being the largest local insurer, should demonstrate more corporate responsibility by operating within the law.

“Mr Speaker, I raise this issue in the light of the comments I made on good governance and the role of the Government in pursuing good governance, because if you are unduly dominated by any single particular interest, you are going to put the national interest in jeopardy.

It is as simple as that.” The Trinidad Guardian of 8/12/2012 carried a headline on pg A6 as follows, “‘Political agenda’ to blame for legislation to regulate Clico”. The first paragraph under the headline read: “Against the backdrop of the ‘unprecedented’ behaviour of Lawrence Duprey, former executive director of CL Financial, Inspector of Financial Institutions Carl Hiralal blamed the ‘political agenda’ for the delay in passing new legislation for the insurance industry. Hiralal said this legislation would prevent other companies from taking the same road as Clico.” The last administration established a commission of inquiry to look into the operations of Clico.

The commission held public hearings over many months which were broadcast live. The commission submitted a report on its findings with respect to which the current Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, made, inter alia, the following statement in Parliament on July 1: “This country should rest comfortably in the knowledge that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago… will do nothing to impede the flow of justice in this or any other matter and will do everything within its duty and authority to facilitate the holding to account any and all persons who may have been found to have questions to answer… Having perused the report myself I can advise the population that it contains very serious allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of a handful of privileged individuals who were associated with the Clico/CLF group of companies.” A columnist writing in the Business Guardian of 10/8/2016 stated: “If we are not vigilant, there is a real danger that the details of this entire CL Financial matter… will be made to disappear in an epic legal mangle.”