Bombshell in Parliament —

ATTORNEY GENERAL John Jeremie disclosed yesterday that a “valuable” file on the trial of corruption “of a very important person” in Trinidad, went missing en route to the Government’s London attorneys and was eventually found “opened” in New Delhi, India.

He made this revelation while speaking in the House of Representatives on a motion filed by Caroni East MP Ganga Singh, calling on Parliament to condemn Government’s failure to act in the public interest on the Vernon Paul issue.

In a hard-hitting and commanding presentation Jeremie lambasted the UNC for seeking to condemn Government for failure to act on “some sensational reporting in one newspaper from an individual who had offered no evidence to support his wild allegations, save that of his own unreliable word.”

“It is a story filled with holes Mr Speaker but perhaps the biggest is that the PNM, which had just come out of six years of opposition was willing to pay US$630 million, (to have cocaine planted in Sadiq Baksh’s water tank)” Jeremie said. The PNM does not have that kind of money, not now and certainly not then, he added.

“This party had no one with Diamond Reserve accounts in London, no one with accounts in the British Virgin Islands, no deep pocket financiers upon which its political leader or persons close to him could call for millions of dollars at the drop of a hat for being in opposition,” he said.

Jeremie trained his guns on the mover of the motion, stating Singh should be the last person in the House calling for any commission of inquiry since he presided over the controversial InnCogen and Desalcott contracts. “More on that is to come very very shortly,” the AG promised.

Recalling that it was the same Singh who claimed to have information on the Landate/Scarborough Hospital issue and called for a commission of inquiry, Jeremie reminded Parliament that when this commission of inquiry was appointed, Singh was missing in action and never responded to repeated calls to give evidence.

Jeremie also pointed to the “teacup affair”, noting that UNC ranks were split after two of its MPs — Gillian Lucky and Fuad Khan — did not understand, “the political morality,” of telling untruths.

UNC’s modus operandi, the Attorney General charged, was as follows: “Find a convicted felon, someone willing to tell lies at the drop of a hat, get that person to make wild accusations, call for a commission of inquiry and then move on to find some other pretext for hopefully another commission of inquiry.”

Jeremie recalled that despite all allegations of corruption and serious wrong-doings, (including even the shooting death of one of the UNC members — councillor Hansraj Sumairsingh) during that party’s own tenure, the UNC shunned commissions of inquiry. And when its own attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj sought to initiate inquiries, he was fired, Jeremie reminded.

Yet the very UNC, he continued, via this motion filed by Singh, wanted Government to spend tax-payers’ money and time on an inquiry based on a newspaper report which itself was riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies.

As an illustration, he said at one point, Paul was described as a DEA associate, then after the US Government denied this claim, he became a “former informant.”

Paul in one article claimed he had no previous convictions, but then admitted in another, to being involved in criminal activities, the AG cited, adding that Paul had a “bad track record” with the Police stretching over seven years.

Jeremie also scoffed at Paul’s “mind-boggling” story about explosives planted in Baliser House. The AG also noted Paul at first claimed to have a tape recording of his meetings with PNM officials, then subsequently backed away from these claims.