Caroni pays $.7M to Credit Union

CARONI (Brechin Castle) Credit Union Co-operative Society yesterday received part payment of the $10 million High Court injunction it slapped last Wednesday on the now defunct Caroni (1975) Ltd. Yesterday, the defunct company’s management handed over a cheque for $786,330.09 to the Credit Union’s president, Ellis Holder. The sum represents in part a recent audited figure of the $832,551.82 which the Credit Union claimed the company deducted from sugar workers’ salaries and other payments owing to them but failed to deposit into the credit’s union’s account on behalf of the employees. The employees are still members of the credit union despite Caroni’s transfer of its operations into a new company. On Wednesday Justice Amrika Tiwary-Reddy granted the credit union employees an injunction restraining Caroni from disposing its assets until the employees’ deductions were deposited into the credit union’s accounts.

Next Thursday is the return date for the injunction, which means that Caroni, by law, must respond to the judge’s order. Up to yesterday, Caroni had not filed an appearance in court. It has 14 days to do so, but yesterday’s payment seemed to be an indication that the company has agreed to settle the matter with the credit union. Upon receipt of the cheque around midday yesterday, the President and vice-president of the Credit Union held discussions with attorney Dave Persad. Persad told Newsday yesterday that the company’s management requested an examination of  the credit union’s accounts in order to reconcile them with theirs. This was an indication, Persad added, that the rest of the payments of $4,165,343.50 and $5,039,747.10, would be made soon.