Role of CLICO CEO dissolved when judicial manager appointed -CJ Chang

Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang yesterday said that the position of Chief Executive Officer at CLICO (Guyana) was dissolved when the company was placed under judicial management in February, suspending in effect the position and powers once vested in Geeta Singh-Knight as head of the company.

Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang
Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang

The company therefore need not refer to any move to suspend Singh-Knight as CEO that went unheeded by the CEO, Justice Chang said, asserting that the initial court order to have the company wound up had effectively dissolved Singh-Knight’s position.

Singh-Knight is currently acting in the capacity of Assistant Manager at the company, according to Judicial Manager, Maria van Beek.

CLICO (Guyana) suspended Singh-Knight as CEO last week citing decisions she made without the knowledge of the board, but van Beek reportedly instructed Singh-Knight to disregard the letter of suspension and to remain in her office, triggering a subsequent move to the High Court by the company to have her actions properly sanctioned by the court.

Chief Justice Chang, reading from a section in CLICO’s court application, pointed out that the company’s board cannot direct Singh-Knight to return her vehicle or any other related item to its newly appointed Director, Winston Ramalho, because “the Judicial Manager is in charge not the board”.

But even as CLICO (Guyana) lawyers led by attorney, Roysdale Forde stressed urgency and yesterday pressed for the court to hear its case against the judicial manager in a timely manner, the Chief Justice deferred the case to later this month saying that he is interested in what van Beek will disclose to the court within another two weeks before moving forward.

She is supposed to present a report on the way forward for CLICO (Guyana).

The Chief Justice also weighed the time requested by van Beek’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Ashton Chase to prepare an affidavit in answer.

Chase’s request for fourteen days leave was strenuously objected to by Forde, who said that the time appeared too long.

While he subsequently acquiesced to the court’s position to defer the matter for another two weeks, Forde mentioned that a string of matters were being filed against CLICO (Guyana) by van Beek, and that they appeared to have all been prepared in timely fashion.

Forde also spoke on van Beek’s petition to have CLICO (Guyana) wound up declaring that the application was filed without any basis. He argued that the affidavit in support of the application was so sparse that it provided nothing substantial as to why the company should be wound-up.

Chief Justice Chang agreed that the affidavit in support barely provided any information.

Forde said that CLICO (Guyana) is therefore seeking a variation of the order granted by the court appointing van Beek as Judicial Manager of the company.

Last week, CLICO (Guyana) issued a letter suspending Singh-Knight as CEO of the company, and also filed a motion in the High Court to limit the actions of van Beek within the boundaries of court-approved decisions.

CLICO (Guyana) is also seeking an order to cancel the appointment of van Beek as Judicial Manager on the ground that it is undesirable that the order should remain in force indefinitely or alternatively an amendment of the order.

In relation to Singh-Knight’s suspension, the company condemned her decision to dismiss forty full-time and three part-time staff, and a move by her instructing a staff member to remove C L Financial Chairman Lawrence Duprey’s name as a signatory to local bank accounts without consulting, and or a grant of approval by the Board of Directors.

Duprey is named as a signatory on local bank accounts at Republic Bank, Citizen’s Bank and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.

In a letter to Singh-Knight that was signed by its new Director, Winston Ramalho, directors and shareholders at CLICO (Guyana) said they found Singh-Knight’s conduct reprehensible having examined her role since February when the company was placed under judicial management.

Singh-Knight was instructed in the CLICO (Guyana) letter to surrender to Ramalho the company vehicle which she holds in the capacity as Chief Executive Officer; the company’s computer which is in her possession and company documents and or files which are also in her possession.

Van Beek applied for CLICO (Guyana) to be placed under judicial management when CLICO (Bahamas) went into liquidation. The latter held 53% of CLICO (Guyana’s) assets and it appears increasingly unlikely that the assets are retrievable.