THE sole survivor of the 2022 Paria diving tragedy, Christopher Boodram, has expressed outrage and heartbreak over revelations that more than $16 million in legal and consultancy fees was paid out for the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the deaths of his four colleagues.

Boodram said he felt “disgusted” and “betrayed” after the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday released the long-awaited details following a court-ordered disclosure, which showed multi-million-dollar payments made to commissioners, attorneys, and consultants connected to the enquiry, as well as to Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd’s legal defence team.

According to the information released, the OPM spent approximately $9,871,496.66 million on fees for the Commissioners and the CoE’s legal team, while separate correspondence from Paria showed it paid $6,460,732.73 up to August 17, 2023, to its own attorneys, including senior counsel Gilbert Peterson, Jason Mootoo, Gretel Baird, Thane Pierre, and Sebastian Peterson.