November 16-22, 2019
NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
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Threats made against SIPT judge Harrison BY DELANA ISLES FOLLOWING months of delays in the anticipated resumption of the SIPT trial, the court received two startling news bulletins when the trial finally convened on Monday (November 11). First, Jamaican appointed jurist Paul Harrison informed the court that he was advised by the Jamaican police and the TCI authorities, that threats had been made against him. Harrison, 82, said the threats involved his carriage of the trial in which former premier Michael Misick, ex-Government ministers and others are facing charges of corruption. He told the court: “I do not regard the defendants or anyone concerned
with their legal representation as being concerned with any such matters and I will see to it that the trial continues, and that it will be a fair trial to all, based on the evidence heard in this court. “And that nothing extraneous to such evidence will be brought to bear in my consideration of this case.” No indication has been given if the judge has since been assigned security detail. In 2015, the SIPT team had been given security following what was described by former head of the team Helen Garlick at the time as “credible threats”. In August 2015, $2.2 million was allocated for security for the prosecution team, but that was later discontinued, and security at the
courthouse, which was intensive at the time, was slackened considerably. The prosecution team has been operating for more than ten years in the territory without incident. MISICK BACKS AWAY FROM TESTIFYING Meanwhile, another surprise announcement came from the lawyer for chief defendant Michael Misick. Senior counsel Reginald Armour informed the court that his client will no longer be taking the witness stand to defend himself against the many charges brought against him by the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT). The lawyer said it is his client’s
SIPT Judge, Jamaicain jurist Paul Harrison
constitutional right not to testify. The lawyer had previously requested additional time from the court to prepare his client to take the stand. This time was granted and considerably extended due to unforeseen circumstances involving other parties involved in the trial. Misick’s promised testifying has been one of the high points of the trial which has lost the interests of the public. The only references to the trial, both locally and regionally, continue to be that of when will it end. That end may be in sight with this new development, as no indication has been given by the other defendants if they will be testifying.
As such, it may be a matter of months, or less, for both sides to be done presenting their closing statements to the judge. This week, an old application was resubmitted for consideration in the trial. When the defence and the prosecution finally present their closing arguments, the judge will then be tasked with reviewing some 2,700 court exhibits, and consider the testimony of over 200 witnesses before handing down a determination on the guilt or innocence of the defendants. The 82-year-old jurist is serving as judge and jury of the three yearlong proceedings.
CIBC FirstCaribbean majority interest sold BY OLIVIA ROSE CANADIAN Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has sold two-thirds of its FirstCaribbean banking unit to a company run by Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski for $797 million. The bank confirmed on Friday, November 8, that an agreement had been reached with GNB Financial Group on the purchase of a portion of CIBC’s shares in its Caribbean entity - FirstCaribbean International Bank. GNB Financial Group will buy 66.73 percent of FirstCaribbean shares from CIBC, leaving Canada’s fifth-largest lender with about a 25 percent stake in the Barbados-based bank. The sale values FirstCaribbean at about $1.2 billion, compared with $2.8 billion when CIBC took over most of the business. CEO of FirstCaribbean Colette Delaney said: “FirstCaribbean is a strong, well-performing business that continues to grow
across the region. “FirstCaribbean remains laser focused on delivering on its strategy - providing its clients with first class service through a modern everyday banking experience and providing its employees with the best possible work experience.” Last week, news of the sale to Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski made headlines around the world. Gilinski, chairman of GNB Financial Group, said: “FirstCaribbean will remain the strong entity it is today, committed to servicing its clients in the region. “I have been impressed by the strength and stability of FirstCaribbean and am excited about its prospects for the future.” GNB is wholly owned by Starmites Corporation Sarl, the financial holding company of the Gilinski Group. The Gilinski Group has banking operations in Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Panama, and the Cayman Islands with about $15 billion in combined assets. FirstCaribbean is one of the
The bank confirmed on Friday, November 8, that an agreement had been reached with GNB Financial Group
largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with $11.5 billion in assets and a market capitalisation of $2.1 billion as at July 31. For CIBC, the sale marks a scaleback in the region it has been banking in since 1920 when the Canadian
lender opened branches in Barbados and Jamaica and expanded regionwide. The bank combined operations with Barclays in 2002 to create FirstCaribbean and four years later bought the British bank’s 44 percent stake for $988.7 million. CIBC had faced woes in the
Caribbean during and after the 2008 financial crisis, with a series of profit declines and losses that forced it to take impairment charges in 2014 and reorganise the operations to get it on firmer financial footing. FirstCaribbean has more than 2,700 staff at 57 branches in 16 regional markets, according to CIBC. The bank will record a loss of about $102 million from goodwill in the fourth quarter from the sale, though will see a multimillion dollar boost in foreign-currency gains and a 40 basis point improvement in its common equity tier 1 capital ratio when the deal closes in 2020. The Bahamas branch of the international bank is the parent operating company for operations in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Efforts to reach Premier and Minister of Finance Sharlene Cartwright Robinson for a comment on the sale of the bank proved futile.