PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Guardian- Former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey has been summoned to appear before the Clico/HCU commission of enquiry next Tuesday. Andre Monteil, former group financial director, has also been summoned to appear on the same day. Sir Anthony Colman, chair of the commission, yesterday granted an order applied for by Gerald Ramdeen, junior counsel to the enquiry.
Ramdeen said: “We invite you to exercise your powers, under Section 11 of the Commission of the Enquiry Act, to compel the attendance of Mr Lawrence Duprey and Mr Andre Monteil by issuing summonses to both these men. The grounds for the request, he said, were: “Mr Duprey and Monteil have both participated in proceedings before this commission from inception and both of them have taken full advantage during that time of cross-examining witnesses who have been good enough to attend the enquiry.”
Ramdeen said after more than 24 months of the enquiry, on January 22, Duprey’s legal team had written to the commission saying Duprey would be withdrawing from any further participation. He said: “It is indeed unfortunate that both Mr Monteil and Mr Duprey have now, at this 11th hour, taken this position of not testifying before your enquiry, having both been given the fullest opportunity to participate  since the inception.