Mark Bassant
Lead Editor, Investigative Desk
mark.bassant@guardian.co.tt
National Gas Company(NGC) Chairman Conrad Enill is now in the midst of a multi-million-dollar claim brought against him, Anthony Sancho, and T.A.C Investment Group Limited by businesswoman and owner of Jenny’s on the Boulevard, Jennifer Dan Sharma.
In court documents filed in August 2020 and exclusively obtained by Guardian Media’s investigative desk, Enill is named as the second defendant in the matter, Sancho the first defendant, and T.A.C Investment Group Limited as the third defendant.
Sharma is seeking $1,800,525.44 as the total sum due and outstanding by the defendants under agreements and reimbursements for services not rendered by the defendants, as well as loss and damages for breach of the agreement and interest.
In Sharma’s witness statement submitted to the court in September 2021, she indicated that the sum had been loaned and advanced to the defendants between June 2019 - September 2019, “including purchases and payments on their behalf in the amount of $1,800,525.44. and no sums were repaid to Jenny’s on the Boulevard in this regard.”
Enill was appointed NGC Chairman in July 2019 in the midst of this ongoing agreement that he purportedly was part of with Sancho and T.A.C Investment Group Limited.
Sharma indicated in her witness statement that the monies loaned were for a security deposit and six months rent for two posh Chateau de Chantilly Deux apartments in Maraval for both Enill and Sancho in the sum of $343,000 for six months, purchase of an Audi Q5 in the sum of $612,000, services rendered to Sharma in their respective capacities as agents and representatives and or consultants of T.A.C in the sum of $287,125, a further loan of $331,000 to be loaned to Enill and Sancho as agents of the T.A.C, with the promise of it being repaid by T.A.C, a further $175,900 made by Enill for further consultancy services and drawing for the project of assisting Sharma in constructing the Jenny’s Towers and the loan of some $3,037USD($20,537.41TT) to form and register a company in the British Virgin Islands(BVI) in the name of T.A.C Global Holding Limited.
Enill in his witness statement submitted by his attorney Rondelle Keller to the court has denied ever borrowing any money from Jenny’s on the Boulevard(owned by Sharma), ever promised to purchase any property, or offered project management services, or borrowed any money personally to pay for the rental of two apartments, to form or register a company, to acquire an Audi Q5 vehicle to drive personally or for his own benefit or for any other purpose.
While Sancho did not submit a witness statement for the matter, he did tell Guardian Media earlier this week via phone that the “truth will emerge in the court.”
Sancho did acknowledge he had written an apology letter(which Guardian Media obtained) to Sharma that was submitted to her attorney Jacqueline Bowen Rodriguez. He told Sharma he was “writing to clarify his role and the role played by Conrad Enill in relation to the matter to which you are owed money. First of all, I am truly sorry about what had happened to you and you being out of pocket for so long, almost two and a half years now.”
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Sharma said in her statement that she placed her St Clair home up for sale in May 2019 with the help of real estate agent Warren Thomas. Shortly, after she was informed by Thomas of a potential buyer in the name of Alpha Lorde who represented T.A.C Investment Group Limited.
Sharma said between May 21-May 24,2019 she met with Thomas, Lorde, and Anthony Sancho who introduced himself as the Director of T.A.C. After a tour of the house, Sancho according to Sharma’s statement said, “on the next occasion the “boss” will accompany him on the visit to my residential home and the “boss” is the one to make the final decision as to whether to purchase my residential home or not.”
A week after this visit, Thomas informed Sharma that Lorde made contact requesting a second visit to her home by the “higher principal (sic)” who had the “final say in order to confirm, approve and finalise the sale of my residential home.”
ENILL: “THE BOSS”
On June 10th, 2019 Sharma said she met Thomas, Lorde, Sancho, and Conrad Enill at her residential home. “Mr. Sancho also identified Mr. Enill to me as the “boss” he was referring to on the last occasion and the person making the final decision with regard to T.A.C matters.”
Sharma said she had been familiar with and had known Enill, not only as a former government minister but also as a frequent customer of her restaurant Jenny’s on the Boulevard. “Further based on the information communicated to me by Mr. Thomas, I identified Mr. Enill as the potential buyer.”
Sharma recalled Enill was dressed in a three-piece suit bearing a briefcase and “appeared enthusiastic as he toured my residential home.” In fact, Sharma added, “I felt optimistic as to the closing of the sale.” She said Enill and her spoke briefly after the viewing and he “confirmed to me that he had full authority to complete the sale.”
Sharma said she invited him to the restaurant “on the premise of his integrity, public status, and representation to me that he had the authority to close the transaction.”
A few weeks later Sharma said she again met with Enill at her restaurant where they discussed the terms of the agreement sale and some of the deal-breaking items.
Sharma said she also engaged in collateral discussions with Enill over plans to develop a commercial and residential building on another property located at 15-17 Ciprani Boulevard, which is located opposite Jenny’s on the Boulevard. Sharma claimed in her statement “Enill advised me that he had experience in construction, project management, and project financing.”
Sharma said they spoke for a “couple of hours” about her extensive plans.
THE TOWERS
Enill told her the project to construct the towers would cost approximately $50 million and indicated that funds could be secured through the T.A.C Group.
She said Enill also advised her to engage with a team of developers known as CARENG Group through T.A.C to develop and construct the towers in two phases, namely Jenny’s Towers East and Jenny’s Towers West.”He suggested that I not use the word “Ciprani” as my trademark, that business goodwill already existed in the name Jenny’s, and that I should name the development something that leaves a legacy.”
Sharma said that during this visit Enill was also accompanied by Sancho and “formally introduced him as his financial advisor.” Enill gave the assurance that Sancho can be trusted and he had the “competency, ability and resources to ensure and oversee the completion of all business development activities relating to Jenny’s Ciprani Towers including development, architectural, project management, construction and sourcing financing for same. Mr. Enill also assured me that both himself and Mr. Sancho were principals of T.A.C and source the monies to close the sale of my residential house.”
Sharma said Enill and Sancho held a number of meetings at her restaurant thereafter to finalize the transactions. “During that time Enil and Sancho maintained a running tab and credit facility for food and drinks on account to be paid by T.A.C.” Sharma submitted not only these bills as part of her evidence to the court but also other bills, invoices, signed agreements, and cheques for the other facilities she would have extended to Enill, Sancho and T.A.C.
Sharma said during the course of these meetings her son Johnathan Sharma was also present and she trusted Enill’s word.
During these meetings, Sharma admitted she entered into a series of verbal agreements “where I advanced Mr. Enill, Mr. Sancho, and T.A.C sums of money to move the project forward.”
She added, “I attest that all payments advanced by me in cash were requested by Mr. Enill to be paid to him and collected by Mr. Sancho and specifically requested by Mr. Enill to be paid in cash.”
KEEPING TRACK OF PAYMENTS
Sharma ensured she found a way to keep track of the money she lent to the defendants. “In the absence of receipts from Mr. Enill and or Mr. Sancho, I generated receipts from my restaurant as these sums were paid from proceeds of sale from my restaurant. At all times when these advances were made, Mr. Enill and Mr. Sancho represented that the monies were being paid to them in their personal capacity as the personnel(sic) providing the services to me and in their respective capacities as agents and or representatives and or consultants of T.A.C.”
During the period July 12, 2019, to August 6, 2019, Sharma said she paid Enill and Sancho in their personal capacity as the personnel(sic) providing the services to her in their respective capacities as agents and or representatives and or consultants of T.A.C the sum of $287,125.00 and gave a comprehensive breakdown of what the services were in her statement.
THE POSH APARTMENTS
In July Enill gave Sharma the continued assurance that the sale of her residential home and the financing facilities for the construction of the Jenny Towers were being negotiated. However, she said Enill requested that T.A.C be loaned some money “to secure living arrangements for him and Mr. Sancho so that he can relocate to the Port of Spain area from his residence in Arima in order to reside in an area within close proximity to my project. Mr. Enill requested I recommend a real estate agent to assist him and T.A.C with the search for suitable accommodations, I recommended Geschke Mike as I was familiar with him.”
Sharma said Enill contacted her at the end of July 2019 and asked that she meet him at Chateau de Chantilly-Deux in Maraval. Sharma said she went there with her son and also met the real estate agent Mike and the owner George Laquis. Sharma said in her statement, “Mr. Enil expressed his satisfaction with these apartments and requested to borrow monies from my restaurant in facilitating these rentals.”
She said later that day they met at her restaurant and in the presence of her son, Enill gave the undertaking that the sum will be repaid to her by T.A.C by September 30, 2019. Sharma said she was also informed by Enill and Mike that Sancho would also visit the apartments.
Sharma said based on the promise made by Enill for reimbursement from T.A.C she made the payment. “I relied on the representation of Mr. Enill to my detriment and I made a payment in the full sum of $343,000 by way of cheque payment dated August 7th, 2019 made by me on behalf of the Jenny’s on the Boulevard to the company “Wala Wala Limited”, the representative of rental company Chateau de Chantilly Deux.”
Sharma had signed off on rental payment agreements for two apartments Units 1 and 2 for Enill and Sancho. Sharma said an agreement was signed off by T.A.C’s director Sancho agreeing that payments and deposits made referencing the apartments would be repaid by T.A.C.
In Mike’s(real estate agent) witness statement submitted to the court, he confirmed that Sharma would be the one making the payments for the apartments with the lease made out to T.A.C Investment Group Limited.
Mike said that although Enill did not occupy Unit 1 he was aware that Sancho occupied Unit 2. “I recall during in or about the month of October 2019, Ms. Sharma contacted me and requested remittance of the rental payments for Unit 1 in an effort to recover payments made on behalf of T.A.C and to which, she communicated to me, that T.A.C is still owing her.”
Sharma said she was also asked by Enill and Sancho to borrow the sum of USD $3,037(TT20,537.41) to form and register a company in the BVI in the name of T.A.C Global Holding Limited. The latter company as explained to Sharma by Enill and Sancho “was intended to be the beneficiary company to the residential transaction.”
THE AUDI Q5
In the month of July 2019, Sharma also recalled in her statement, Enill acting in his personal capacity and or agent and representative of T.A.C requested the borrowed sum of $612,000 for the purchase of a new Audi Q5. Enill, according to Sharma said, “the motor vehicle was intended to be purchased by T.A.C and driven by him(Enill) with all transfers and certificate ownership of the vehicle being held in the name of T.A.C.”
Sharma said she obtained the relevant corporate documents, from Lorde, the T.A.C representative for Southern Sales and Service Company Limited. “Further to the actions and promises of Mr. Enill and Mr. Lorde with some input from Mr. Sancho, I purchased the said motor vehicle registration PDX 6***(number deleted) by way of cheque payment dated the 2nd day of August 2019, payable to Southern Sales and Service Company Limited, the car dealer, for and on behalf of T.A.C.”
In the interim Sharma said she had taken her property off the market on August 21, 2019, as Sancho had executed the said agreement for sale on behalf of T.A.C.
Sharma said as an “act of good faith,” she never engaged in other potential buyers for her residential home since Enill and Sancho had expressed interest in the property four months earlier.
Subsequent to signing the agreement of sale, Sharma said that Enill suggested that she open an account at CIBC (First Caribbean International Bank Limited). Enill advised her the reason for doing so was to “facilitate the proceeds of the sale of my residential home being deposited into that account.” Sharma said she opened both a TT and USD account at the bank.
MORE LOANS
Sharma contended that Enill requested further loans to Sancho and himself in their personal capacity and as agents and or representatives of T.A.C in the sum of $331,000 over the period June to August 2019.
She said to support these payments made and collected by Sancho she generated receipts all of which were submitted to the court attached to her 15-page statement.
On September 9, 2019, Sharma revealed that “Enill made a further request in his own capacity and acting on behalf of himself to borrow the sum of $175,000 for further advances towards consultancy services and drawing for the project. Mr. Enill undertook that T.A.C would repay this debt together with the others referred above by September 30, 2019, when T.A.C realise some funds.”
ENILL, SANCHO NOWHERE IN SIGHT
Sharma said as time elapsed into late September 2019, Enill nor Sancho made any contact with her or organised any future meetings. “I recall that one or two months before this time, Mr. Enill was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the NGC.”
Sharma said up to late September 2019, under her business Jenny’s on the Boulevard she had already advanced to Enill, Sancho, and T.A.C loans, and advances including purchases and payments the sum of $1,800,525.44m.
“ And to date, no sums were repaid.”
Sharma said when she spoke to Lorde and another representative of T.A.C they were “shocked and surprised,” about what had transpired in regards to the purchase of the vehicle the rental of the apartments, and the other matters concerning Enill, Sancho, and T.A.C.
After several failed attempts to contact both Enil and Sancho, Sharma said she made contact with Superintendent Earl Elie.
She said she met with Elie over the period October to November 2019 and showed him her supporting documents in the matter.
She said she prepared a letter dated October 20, 2019, and addressed it to Enil, and signed on behalf of Jenny’s on the Boulevard. She said she requested Superintendent Elie’s assistance in locating both Enil and Sancho.
Elie, according to Sharma met Enill at least on two occasions and had several teleconference calls with him.
Elie told Sharma that Enill gave the assurance that the money will be repaid and used the phrase, “there are no ifs or buts” in reference to the payments.
JENNY’S POLICE REPORTS
Elie also conveyed to Sharma that Enil had sight of a wire transfer for the said sum of approximately $1.8m to be transferred to the account of Jennifer Dan-Sharma at CIBC First Caribbean International Bank Limited. However, Enill’s promise never materialised.
Superintendent Elie in a witness statement also submitted to the court in support of Sharma’s claim said he met Enill at the Radisson Hotel at Wrightson Road on November 13, 2019, and during a conversation, Enill “admitted to having knowledge about the monies owed to Jenny’s on the Boulevard by him, Sancho and T.A.C”
Elie said he (Enill) made assurances to have the money (all $1.8m) wire transferred to her CIBC account and told her to check her account within a few days.
Elie said between November 14th to the 22nd 2019 he was in contact with Sharma to inquire if she had received the monies, but she had not.
Elie said he again met with Enill and spoke to him on several occasions via the phone and Enill give further assurances and re-assurances the monies owed by himself, Sancho and T.A.C will be repaid.
When this was not forthcoming, Elie said Sharma made reports to the “St Clair Police Station and Fraud Squad in Port of Spain in the latter part of November 2019.”
Elie said Sharma showed him copies of the police receipts from both stations she obtained after making the reports.
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ENIL DENIES IT ALL
In Enill’s witness statement submitted to the court by his lawyer, Enill distanced himself from several of the business transactions and said he only accompanied his “good friend” Sancho to Sharma’s residential home to whether the property was a good location for T.A.C.
Enill stated his “involvement or presence with the other parties was never for the purpose of creating any legal relations with the claimant, Jennifer Dan-Sharma, the first defendant(Sancho) and the third defendant(T.A.C).”
In fact, Enill denied ever being a “partner, manager shareholder, director or beneficiary,” of T.A.C and said he “never represented myself to be acting in any special capacity on behalf of Sancho or T.A.C to Dan-Sharma.”
Enill said in making reference to the sale of Sharma’s residential home- it was entered between Sancho and T.A.C with Sharma. He said, “However, I am not, nor was I ever, a party to that agreement and I am a total stranger to it.”
He added, “To be clear I am a stranger to the details of any specific contractual arrangements between the other parties in this matter since I was not a party to any of the alleged agreements whether made in writing, orally, or through the course of conduct.”
Enill in his three-page witness statement said he was “perplexed by claims that he had engaged Sharma’s company to undertake project management services for a proposed development of a commercial and residential building, the so-called, “Jenny’s(Ciprani) Towers. I was never a party to any agreement.”
Enill denied ever receiving any monies from Sharma’s company/Sharma or any of her agents. “I am completely taken aback by the allegations that they had paid money over to me or that I facilitated or represented the request for such payments. These allegations are far from the truth.”
The NGC chairman also denied borrowing any money from Sharma to make any deposit on the Chateau de Chantilly apartments, to set up or register a new company, or to purchase a new Audi Q5 vehicle.
Enill said the vehicle and apartment were intended for T.A.C to be given to its intended chairman or CEO. He said he never accepted any such role at the company nor was he a receipt or beneficiary of any apartment or Audi Q5 vehicle.
Enill said he was taken aback when he received a pre-action protocol letter on behalf of Sharma “claiming exorbitant sums from me jointly with Sancho and T.A.C.”
He also denied that he gave any undertaking to anyone from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service that he would pay Sharma the sum owed. “The allegation is completely false. As it presently stands there are no convictions or pending charges in relation to this or any other matter.”
Enill insisted that he has “only been a close friend and confidant of Sancho and nothing more.”
Guardian Media reached out to Enill in early December via phone and he indicated he was in a meeting and would return our call.
Enill, did not call back and we sent him a WhatsApp message concerning the court matter and the claims raised in the court documents we read and sifted through.
Enill first responded stating, “ I am not the business partner of Mr. Sancho.”
Guardian Media responded in the interest of fair and transparent journalism we wanted to hear his side of the story. We did clarify that Sancho seemed to act as Enil’s man of business. Enill responded saying, “He asked for an opinion on a project. I have no relationship with him beyond that.”
Enill urged us to read his witness statement, which we later obtained. He then indicated, “The matter is before the court so I am awaiting the outcome.”
We pressed Enill indicating that due to the allegations contained in the court documents and him being a public figure it was important to get his feedback for parity.
Enill later responded stating, “As far as I am aware this is a private matter between Mr. Sancho and the parties he contracted with.”
SANCHO APOLOGISES
When Guardian Media contacted Sancho last Monday he said, “The truth will emerge in court.”
Sancho confirmed that he had also written an apology letter to Sharma on November 25, 2021, which her lawyer acknowledged she obtained from Sancho.
Sharma’s lawyer Jacqueline Bowen-Rodriguez when contacted about whether Sancho had submitted a witness statement to the court she replied in the negative.
In the opening of the letter, Sancho apologises profusely for the money owed and for putting her out of pocket for more than two years.
Sancho essentially indicated that he acted with his company T.A.C with the guidance and advice of Enill.
Sancho said he had known Enill for over 20 years and said he was confident through his connections that they would be able to secure the funds to buy Sharma’s home and the “project based on the premise that such a project will attract both local and international sources.”
Sancho admitted in his apology letter of having purportedly collected monies for both himself and Enill.
In Sancho’s parting line before signing off on the letter to Sharma said, he “truly regretted what had transpired in the past.”
On Wednesday Sancho again contacted this journalist to also say,” right is right and wrong is wrong and what took place was “inexcusable and could have been avoided and I will say this publicly.”
Sharma when contacted would only say she was hoping for a “favourable outcome” on her part when the civil matter comes up for hearing later this year.
