A High Court judge has deemed a purported $7 million loan agreement between two business partners fraudulent and a “sham document designed to deceive.”

Justice Frank Seepersad made the finding in a ruling on April 1, in a lawsuit by Advanced Hose and Marketing Ltd (AHML), of Ridgewood Heights, Tacarigua, against a contractor and two other parties as it sought to recover $7 million in funds for a construction project that did not materialise.

In its lawsuit, Advanced Hose claiming it transferred $7 million to a contractor who fraudulently misappropriated and converted the money for his own use and benefit.