The PUC Amendment Bill was signed into law by the Governor General today, despite a long list of threats from Jeffrey Prosser's attorney's.
Yesterday, Prosser's Washington attorney Raymond Mullady wrote government an angry letter, saying that if it makes the bill law, ICC will act on its threat and move to systematically undermine, embarrass and undo the government internationally. Well as they say on the streets, he could "halla that" because government was unfazed and the bill is now law tonight. But that does not immediately strip ICC of the Special Share. According to the law the Minister, in this case Ralph Fonseca, would first have to consult with the Central Bank and the PUC and then make an order.
Still, those are technicalities, and it is believed that Fonseca will move swiftly to cancel the share. That would pave the way for the finalization of the Ashcroft-BTL transaction which will land 37.5 million much needed U.S. dollars in the Government Treasury. That money will of course have to be sent on to the International Bank of Miami as partial settlement of GOB's debt there, a debt government fronted in December of 2003 to facilitate the BTL deal and because the deal fell apart, it's now a debt that the country will lose at least US$3 million.
And while that's one story, the Special Share is another. ICC has circulated a letter from Lyndon Guiseppi, the Managing Director of the Royal Merchant Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. confirming that the special share is held at his bank as part of the collateral securing the US$26 million Intelco debt. That’s the government guaranteed debt that Jeff Prosser agreed to take up as part of the BTL buyout.
How the now imminent cancellation of the special share now will square with the RBTT's claim is left to be seen, but whenever there's a move to strip a banker's security – well that's like taking a bone from a hungry dog...it can't be expected to go too well....but on that, we’ll wait and see.
