For­mer en­er­gy min­is­ter Stu­art Young has ac­cused the gov­ern­ment of strip­ping cash from Trinidad and To­ba­go NGL Lim­it­ed (TTNGL), warn­ing that the move could weak­en the state-linked com­pa­ny’s abil­i­ty to in­vest in fu­ture projects.

Speak­ing to re­porters out­side if Par­lia­ment to­day, Young claimed the pay­ment of large div­i­dends ef­fec­tive­ly drains the com­pa­ny’s re­tained earn­ings to boost gov­ern­ment rev­enue.

“They have drained the re­tained earn­ings of TTNGL,” Young said. “By with­draw­ing $2 bil­lion and putting it un­der the guise of div­i­dends, you leave the com­pa­ny bare.”