Auditor General, Central Bank willing to meet to resolve impasse

Senior Reporter

akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt

A possible resolution to the impasse between Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass and the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) may be on the horizon as both parties have agreed to meet to discuss her request to examine the bank’s electronic cheque-clearing system.

This development may please Minister of Finance Colm Imbert, who in Parliament on September 9 hoped that such a meeting would put much of the tensions to rest.

But while Imbert said Ramdass had yet to set a date in response to the CBTT’s request to meet, Guardian Media understands she has yet to receive any such invitation.

In a recent affidavit, Ramdass claimed that her ability to perform a proper audit and verify the issues that caused a $2.6 billion underestimation of revenue in the national accounts was hampered as she was allegedly blocked by the CBTT from accessing its electronic cheque-clearing system.

Yesterday, in response to questions posed by Guardian Media, the CBTT said, “The governor will be happy to meet with the Auditor General at a mutually convenient time to work out the parameters of any special investigation that the Auditor General would like to conduct.”

The CBTT also acknowledged its willingness to meet in the context of the importance of Ramdass’ office.

“The Auditor General’s Office is an important institution in contributing to financial integrity and good governance in Trinidad and Tobago. Given this fact, and the historical relationship between the Central Bank and the Auditor General’s Office (which conducted the Bank’s external audit for many years),” the CBTT said via email.

Guardian Media asked the CBTT if any invitation or request to meet had been sent to Ramdass or her office in light of information that she had not received any such correspondence to date.

However, the CBTT was guarded in its response and said, “The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago considers our correspondence with external parties (including the Auditor General’s Office, Government agencies, commercial banks etc) to be of a confidential nature. Our reply will not therefore cite specific correspondence but provides the Bank’s position.”

Ramdass is currently on vacation and out of the country, but Guardian Media understands she would be inclined to such a meeting.

Prior to the CBTT’s statement of intent to meet, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar questioned if it had something to hide.

The dispute between Ramdass and the ministry arose in April after the Ministry of Finance sought to deliver amended public accounts to explain a reported $2.6 billion underestimation in revenue.

Initially, Ramdass refused to accept them and claimed that she needed legal advice on whether she could receive those documents after the January statutory deadline for submission.

The Auditor General eventually accepted the records and dispatched audit staff to verify them.

She then submitted her original annual report to Parliament, which was based on the original records.

In subsequent legal correspondence between the parties, Ramdass claimed that her audit team was unable to reconcile the amended records based on documents it audited. She also contended that the amended records appeared to be backdated to the original statutory deadline in January.

Ramdass also took issue with the fact that the discrepancy was initially estimated at $3.4 billion.

Imbert has constantly denied any wrongdoing.

The minister’s lawyers claimed that the reconciliation after the initial estimate revealed that the variance was in fact $2,599,278,188.72, which was attributed to Value Added Tax (VAT), Individual, Business Levy and Green Fund Levy contributions.

The attorneys also claimed that checks in relation to the approximate $780 million difference between the initial and final estimated variances attributed it to tax refund cheques to taxpayers issued for the 2022 financial year being cashed in the financial year 2023.

They blamed the error on a switch from a manual to an electronic cheque-clearing system by the CBTT.

Imbert’s lawyers claimed that there was no backdating as they noted that the allegation was made because a document related to the original public accounts was inadvertently included in the revised documents.

They also contended that Ramdass acted illegally in initially refusing to accept the amended accounts.

The Auditor General is currently locked in two legal battles with the state.

The first is over her ability to seek independent legal advice on the impasse between her office and Imbert’s ministry.

That case has been adjourned to January 13, 2025.

Ramdass also has a pending judicial review case over a Cabinet-appointed probe led by retired judge David Harris, which was initiated after Ramdass highlighted the financial discrepancy in her annual report.

Justice Westmin James refused Ramdass leave to pursue her case, but his decision was subsequently overturned by the Appeal Court.

The Cabinet lodged a final appeal over the preliminary issue which is expected to be heard by the United Kingdom-based Privy Council in early November.

Ramdass is represented by Senior Counsel, Anand Ramlogan.

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