Finbar Gangar served with summons

A fifth former UNC Cabinet Minister, Finbar Gangar, who headed the Energy Ministry under the UNC, was served with a summons on Friday night to answer charges under the Integrity in Public Life Act for allegedly filing a false declaration. He is to be charged with two counts of filing a false declaration in failing to declare two accounts at two offshore UK banks — one in Jersey, and another in Guernsey. Both Jersey and Guernsey are part of the English Channel Islands, a well-known tax haven where bank secrecy laws allow clients to escape the censure of disclosure. According to sources, the accounts held substantial sums amounting to millions of dollars.

Gangar is due to appear in court on June 21 to explain why these accounts were not declared to the Commission of Integrity when he filed his declaration of income and assets. He is the second UNC politician to be charged under the Integrity Commission Act. UNC leader and former Prime Minisiter Basdeo Panday is currently facing similar charges for failure to declare a UK account which allegedly contained vast sums. Consistent with the procedure for laying charges under the Integrity Act, Gangar was not arrested in a manner similar to his colleagues on corruption charges. Instead a summons was issued by a magistrate at 5 pm on Friday and was served to Gangar at around 7 pm the same night at his home in Philippines, South Trinidad, sources stated. The summons followed two years of investigations, which ended with the matter being referred to the Integrity Commission. The Commission then passed it on to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The accounts, according to sources, were held in the names of Gangar and his wife, Maureen Wendy. One account was opened on January 1, 2000 by the former Minister, who is alleged to have used his diplomatic passport identifying his portfolio responsibility at the time that the account was created. Sources stated that the other account was opened in the name of a company called Oriana of which the Minister is named as the beneficial owner. The investigations involved UK authorities as well as local police officers, led by Wellington Virgil, Maurice Piggott and David West of the Central Authority Unit of the Ministry of the Attorney General. During the probe comprehensive statements were taken. Sources said the investigators were faced with strenuous objections from the two locations (of the funds) but were facilitated following interventions by the British Home Secretary. Because they are off-shore institutions, such banks do not have to subscribe to many of the regular rules relating to disclosure.

Government was able to overcome that obstacle because of the support of the British authorities. Sources stated that investigations are being conducted into the possible sources of several illicit transactions involving persons associated with the UNC administration. These include the SW Soldado Oil Field contract, InnCogen, the Desalination contract as well as the Airport contract. Sources stressed that charges and arrests are very imminent in respect of the InnCogen matter. Finbar Gangar is the fifth UNC former minister to face the courts arising out of actions taken during the UNC’s term of office. The others are Panday, Brian Kuei Tung, Sadiq Baksh and Dhanraj Singh.