The Opposition Leader has said the Miami law firm Sequor Law was paid $29.324 million to represent TT against people charged in the Piarco corruption case. She said this money was now lost to the country.
Speaking during the UNC’s Virtual Report on Monday, Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the figure was revealed as the result of a request for information from the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs after a Standing Finance Committee meeting.
“We asked for the breakdown of the monies to the Miami law firm, how much was paid to the law firm in relation to legal matters, TT vs the defendants. This tells us it was $29.324 million, and all of it has gone down the drain because of his lying. The law firm was disqualified from representing TT.”
In a statement on June 20, AG Reginald Armour said he was never given an opportunity to correct the record in the Miami court when he recalled the full extent of his involvement in the defence of his former client Brian Kuei Tung in the local courts. He insisted he never tried to mislead the Miami court when he spoke of his role in Kuei Tung’s defence over a decade ago.
In an affidavit in response to a motion by Kuei Tung to strike out the US lawsuit, Armour first claimed he played a minimal role as his lawyer in TT, which was limited to “legal research and taking notes.” His statements, which were deposed in a sworn affidavit in the US court, conflicted with the public record, which showed Armour was a senior counsel in 2003, and had played a major role as a defence attorney.
As reported by Newsday in July, the transcript of the judge's comments at the court hearing in Miami on April 27 says, "After considering the position of the parties, I do find that the automatic disqualification does in fact apply. While you may have been disqualified, Mr Armour, or somehow replaced as a party for this case, I am extending the disqualification to the law firm as well."
The judge’s disqualification ruling is currently being appealed.
Persad-Bissessar said another piece of information requested and received was that Armour received $1.4 million from the State in legal fees for fiscal 2022.
“The total fees paid to AG Armour for fiscal 2022, for matters for the period June 15, 2020-February 23, 2022 was $1.4 million, on the eve of his becoming the AG.
"He couldn’t remember the figure when we asked him on the day, because he was probably ashamed to tell you how much he was paid in legal fees in 2022. He couldn’t remember $1.4 million, probably because he’s collected so many millions over the years.”
The Opposition Leader said no other MP was paid legal fees by the State in fiscal 2022.
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