(Trinidad Express) A thorough investigation needs to be launched into the billion-dollar purchase of property in Florida, USA, by British American Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd (BAT), Lynette Seebaran-Suite, the attorney representing the CLICO policyholders group, said on Tuesday.
Seebaran-Suite made the statement during the Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial and Hindu Credit Union (HCU) at Winsure Building, Richmond Street, Port of Spain.
The US$295 million purchase of 6,000 acres of land in Osceola County referred to as the Green Island transaction was the largest investment done by BAT.
Seebaran-Suite said the purchase was done with funds taken from Executive Flexible Premium Annuity policyholders. “There are bells ringing and red flags being thrown up with this transaction,” Seebaran-Suite said.
The main source of funds for the property purchase came from a US$159 million mortgage by the sellers of the property and a US$59 million purchase promissory note by Green Island Holdings LLC.
Seebaran-Suite read the transcript from an interview with Brian Branker, the former chairman of BAT, where he said there was some financial discrepancy with the Green Island Fund Transaction. British Queen’s Counsel Andrew Mitchell, the attorney for former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey, objected to the reading of Branker’s transcript describing it as “gossip and water cooler chat”.
