Businessman Hazar Hosein, the man at the centre of the contentious email thread between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and businessman Inshan Ishmael, yesterday said the matter will be forwarded to his lawyers.
On Wednesday night during his TV programme, Ishmael produced a redacted email from the PM in which Rowley told him to “kiss his ar...” and “go to hell”.
Soon after, Rowley provided the email thread which showed that Ishmael first told the PM he was forced to close down his used-car business after 21 years because of a shortage of foreign exchange. Ishmael alleged that while other businesses were unable to access foreign exchange, Hosein was being granted access to “unlimited forex.”
He tried to link Hosein to the PM, saying Hosein was also a CEO at the Land Settlement Agency and that Government ministers bought vehicles from his company and questioned whether they did their due diligence checks.
It was then Rowley told him off, saying that he was “overdoing it.”
But in a brief telephone interview yesterday, Hosein denied he received any special treatment.
“I am just like everyone else,” Hosein said.
Hosein refused to say more as the matter was going to his legal team.
On Wednesday night, Rowley called on Ishmael to provide context to his email and sent the thread to Guardian Media.
According to the email conversation between the two, Ishmael accused the Prime Minister of favouring a business with foreign exchange access.
“What is interesting is that we were informed that a former Director (sic) of FCB was given the green light by the Minister of Finance to get unlimited forex. This company run by Hazar Hosein and his son Mikhail imports millions worth in USD of vehicles every month while most of us sucking salt,” Ishmael said.
“Ministers and Government officials have bought vehicles from this company. Did they do their due diligence checks?” he asked.
Moments after the story was posted online, Ishmael also posted the emails to his social media page. The story garnered a lot of attention on social media.
While some people supported the Prime Minister and told him he was too kind to Ishmael, others found his words unbecoming of his high office.
Ishmael upset by PM’s response
Despite his pat with the PM, Ishmael has defended his decision to support the People’s National Movement and Rowley in the 2015 election.
“Yes I supported Rowley in 2015 because of the people around him and the vision at that time was workable. If you chose to support a woman who lost 9 previous elections that is also your right. The reality of it is that a sitting PM must have some level of decorum, he must not behave like an ass or bray like one,” Ishmael wrote on social media.
“He cannot be compared to an average citizen,” he said.
Ishmael said while thousands of businesses were suffering and shutting down due to foreign exchange issues, “some of allyuh too stupid to see that!”
“Some getting millions while others getting nutting but again allyuh too stupid to see that,” he said.
Ishmael said most of the people in support of Rowley did not have a “parrot on a stick.”
“This is the type of behaviour you have in your home, so the PM addressing a citizen like this is celebrated by you...this is why this country will never progress, too many stupid people,” he said.
Ishmael said his own father did not talk to him the way Rowley did.
“Who the ar** Rowley feel he is?” Ishmael asked.
But while calling on Rowley to have better behaviour, in Ishmael’s immediate response to the PM, he told him it was impossible to differentiate his head from his ar**. He told Rowley he (Ishmael) was connected enough to see the donor list at Balisier House Project and “had to laugh, these fellas are being well rewarded now.”
Guardian Media asked Rowley yesterday whether he believed his words disrespected his office and he responded by saying, “Ask him (Ishmael).”
“Ask him why he redacted the main sentences in the email that he was publishing. What did those sentences say,” Rowley said.