Lawyers wrangle over audit documents

Despite their objections, Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court, ruled that the audit documents were already in evidence, and the witness could look at them.

The prosecution called Gerard Anthony Borely, who lives at South Bridge, Christ Church, Barbados. Borely is a chartered accountant and the Chief Financial Offi-cer of the First Caribbean International Bank in Barbados.

He has been working with the bank for the past three years. He worked with the bank’s predecessor, CIBC West Indies Holdings Ltd, for four years.

Prior to that, Borely was employed with Ernst and Young Partners in Trinidad for nine years.

He started with Ernst and Young in 1990 as an audit trainee.

Borely was led in evidence-in-chief by English Queen’s Counsel Edward Jenkins, who arrived in Trinidad earlier this week.

When Jenkins asked Borely to look at two documents already tendered into evidence, defence attorney Frank Solomon SC objected. Solomon pointed out that he had objected some time before during the inquiry, and although the documents were tendered and marked, it did not form part of the evidence.

Solomon argued that the computer generated transcripts could not be admitted into evidence until the prosecution brings someone to say that that person was responsible for making copies from certain computers.

However, prosecutor Gilbert Peterson SC found this to be absurd, saying that this was in 1997, and Maritime would have changed their computers, pointing out that companies upgrade their equipment every 18 months.

Peterson said it was not possible to bring someone from Maritime General Insurance to give evidence against the company which was charged. He said the documents were seized by the police who obtained a warrant to search Maritime General, one of the accused in the inquiry.

Several other defence attorneys — Vernon De Lima, Desmond Allum SC, Fyard Hosein SC, and Ian Brooks — joined Solomon in the objection, but Mc Nicolls overruled the submission and called on Borely to examine the documents.

Solomon insisted, however, that the Chief Magistrate was wrong. Mc Nicolls told Solomon that he had the choice of taking the matter elsewhere if he was dissatisfied.

Hearing was adjourned to Monday.

Eight persons and three companies are charged with a total of 21 offences relating to the new terminal development project at Piarco Airport. They are former government ministers Brian Kuei Tung and Russel Huggins; CEO of Northern Construction Ltd (NCL) Ish Galbaransingh; CEO of Maritime General Insurance Company John Henry Smith; Maritime Group of Companies chairman Steve Ferguson; company secretary Barbara Gomes; businesswoman Renee Pierre, and Fidelity Insurance and Leasing Company Ltd.