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IN what was described as a matter “that posed a serious threat to the country’s economic well-being,” the Office of the Attorney General announced a decision to end a Privy Council appeal involving Proman Holdings Barbados Ltd and CL Financial Ltd (CLF).

In a release on January 19, the AG's office said after assuming office, the government was confronted with several complex legal disputes inherited from the previous administration, including the high-profile Privy Council appeal arising out of a controversial share transfer involving Clico Energy Company Ltd, now known as Process Energy (Trinidad) Ltd (PETL).

The dispute centred on a purchase and sale agreement dated February 3, 2009, under which CLF, purportedly acting through its then-chairman and director Lawrence Duprey, sought to transfer a 51 per cent shareholding in Clico Energy to Proman for US$46.5 million ($314.83 million). The transaction was challenged in the High Court, with Justice Devindra Rampersad ruling in September 2021 that the transfer was invalid.