Finance Minister Dave Tancoo has accused his predecessor Colm Imbert of trying to scare away investors and to negatively influence the international rating agencies in their assessment of Trinidad and Tobago’s financial position.

Responding to statements from Imbert that the Trinidad and Tobago Government was “broke”, Tancoo said it was “shameless...gloating” about Trinidad and Tobago’s financial difficulties.

The Finance Minister told the Express: “Just when you think that Imbert cannot go lower with his deception, he does. It is ironic and shameless of Imbert to be gloating about financial difficulties which he and his corrupt government have pushed the country into. The wild borrowing without accountability, the billions in illegal contracts given out by ministries discovered by the Office of the Procurement Regulator, the hundreds of millions stolen annually by ghost gangs facilitated by the Imbert and his gang, and the billions left owing to contractors, service providers and the public service is what has placed this country in challenging times.