For a second day, officers of the Anti-Corruption and Investigations Bureau (ACIB) raided Sunway and David Montgomery and Chartered Accountants as they stepped up their criminal probe into the Urban Development Corporation (Udecott).
Officers again seized several boxes of financial, legal and contractual documents relating to billions of dollars disbursed by Udecott for several construction projects. Computers and hard drives were also seized, just like on Wednesday when the same offices were raided. On Wednesday, an ACIB source said David Montgomery was the accounting firm which handled Udecott's financial accounts. However, the source apologised yesterday, saying that information was given in error, and Montgomery actually dealt with Sunway's accounts. Head of the ACIB Snr Supt Terry Young, who is leading the Udecott probe, met with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard yesterday. Young, however, declined to comment on his discussions with Gaspard which lasted several hours. Young left the DPP's office in an unmarked police SUV and went to the Police Administration Building, a block away.
While leaving the building, Young was again pressed by media personnel for a comment. He simply smiled and repeated, "nothing, nothing, nothing at all right now." During a brief telephone interview last night, Young said his discussion with Gaspard had nothing to do with the Udecott probe. "We spoke about sensitive matters...The inquiries are continuing and there are lots of documents and information to be carefully analysed along every step of the probe," Young said. A few weeks ago, Gaspard advised acting Police Commissioner James Philbert to conduct an investigation, after the DPP received documents from the Congress of the People which allegedly linked a director of CH to former Udecott executive chairman Calder Hart's wife, Sherrine. On Wednesday, police raided the offices of Udecott, Sunway and Montgomery's accounting firm.
Armed uniformed policemen were left overnight at Montgomery's office at the corner of Gordon and Abercromby Streets, Port-of-Spain, to ensure that information relating to the police probe was not removed from the building. Sources at the ACIB said since their searches began, they have made no attempts to contact Hart and his wife, who are out of the country. "All we have is a number for their (Harts') Cascade residence and no one answered that phone. So we are yet to execute a search warrant at their home," another ACIB source said yesterday. When questioned whether investigators had approached Attorney General John Jeremie for a contact number for Hart, the officer said the ACIB had not spoken to the AG in relation to their probe.
The source also dismissed reports that ACIB officers raided the Central Bank and seized documents relating to their probe. "That never happened...I don't know where that information is coming from, but we never stepped foot at the Central Bank," the source said.