By Sue-Ann Wayow
MEMBER of Parliament for Pointe-a-Pierre David Lee is asking if state attorney Richard Beckles has also been hired to represent the State in key legal decisions in the energy sector.
This following the High Court ruling against Beckles who was ordered along with his law firm, the Legal Consultancy, to pay $1.2 million dollars in compensation for negligence.
Beckles, through his law firm, had advised state-owned bank First Citizens to enter into a mortgage agreement with the purchaser of land in Barataria Keelan Aaron Hunte and seller Robert Ferguson John who impersonated the rightful owner Robert John who currently lives in the US.
In a press release on Friday, Lee stated, “The Minister of Energy must tell the country if attorney Richard Beckles who was ordered to pay one of the largest sums ever awarded in this jurisdiction for negligence by lawyers is the same individual hired as the ongoing counsel for the National Gas Company (NGC) on Atlantic Train One Negotiations as well as LNG negotiations with BP and Shell since 2018.”
He added, “Even more important, the Minister of Energy must be honest and state if this is the same individual who is the counsel that has been retained by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries for the Dragon Gas Negotiations since 2017.”
Quoting from the High Court Judgement, Lee said the questions required urgent answers in the national interest given the ruling of High Court Judge Justice Frank Seepersad who stated, “The Legal Consultancy abdicated its responsibility to its clients, engaged in shoddy work and as a consequence failed to protect Mr Hunte’s interest or FCB’s interest”.
Lee said, “It is simply obscene, unacceptable, atrocious, and damaging to the integrity of our national energy sector if key deals such as the Dragon Deal as well as LNG agreements which are critical to the economic stability of this nation have been placed in the remit of someone who the courts have recently described as abdicating their responsibility to their clients and engaging in shoddy work.”
If Beckles was indeed hired to represent the State on those negotiations, Lee said it would also be questionable if taxpayers would be able to benefit from proper negotiations.
