The Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB) has laid a total of 1,093 charges between 2015 and April 2019 — including charges against a former Attorney General and a former UNC Senator.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi indicated this in Parliament on Wednesday while replying to Opposition questions on the ACIB’s work.
He said there were no prosecutions or convictions over 2015-2016. But in 2017, some 144 charges were laid with zero convictions.
In 2018, some 939 charges of money laundering were laid and one person was convicted. In 2019, some 10 charges were laid with zero convictions.
“Having passed the ACIB to the T&T Police Service, some of these money-laundering charges included past senior members of the UNC — including a former Attorney General and a former senator. The ACIB is doing phenomenally well on tracking down high-level corruption including corruption among politicians,” he added.
Al-Rawi said the ACIB spent $6m from September 2015 to April 2019.
He also said that after a comprehensive value-for-money audit on all legal fees and expenditure, the Ministry of the Attorney General has referred several matters to the Police Service and Director of Public Prosecutions “for consideration and such action they may consider appropriate.”
He said the Ministry he heads - which incorporates Legal Affairs and part of the former Justice Ministry - spent $1.014 bn on legal fees while the legal fees under the former UNC Attorney General’s Ministry and Ministries of Legal Affairs and Justice was $4.58 bn. He said under the UNC Attorney General’s Ministry alone spent $1.22 bn.
Al-Rawi said “Anand Ramlogan SC was appointed Attorney General on May 26, 2010. Under the UNC administration, the combined expenditure for the period 2010 to 2015 inclusive for the Ministry of Attorney General, the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice was $4.585 bn.
“Under the UNC administration, the expenditure for the period 2010 to 2015 inclusive for the Ministry of Attorney General only was $1.222 bn.”
But he noted, “Under the present Government, the combined expenditure for the period 2015 to 2019 for the combined Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs (i.e. Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs and absorbed aspects of Ministry of Justice) altogether is $1.014 bn.”
Al-Rawi said under the UNC administration, the expenditure on legal fees at the Ministry of the Attorney General was $444,444,197.16.
“Accumulated debts left by the UNC administration at the Ministry of the Attorney General amounted to $137,128,742.16. The whole of UNC Government expenditure on legal fees largely managed by its Attorneys General amounted to $1.6 bn approximately, inclusive of unpaid debts and expenses at the Ministry of the Attorney General.”
“Under the present Government, expenditure on legal fees has been $224,297,888.48. This includes $140,544,281.74 spent on legal fees for the Director of Public Prosecutions and $83,753,606.74 spent on legal fees for the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs which has been applied between liquidation of arrears and current expenses.”