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BY
VALDEEN SHEARS-NEPTUNE
After four years of investigations into alleged corruption
into the desalination plant project, Desalcott’s executive
chairman Hafeez Karamath was yesterday arrested on fraud charges.
He has been granted $1 million bail.
Sources said yesterday that at least three other people are
to be charged.
Accompanied by his attorney Ravi Rajcoomar, Karamath surrendered
to members of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau shortly
after noon.
He surrendered after learning that investigators had obtained
a warrant for his arrest.
The probe into the desalination project began back in 2002
after the Government promised an investigation into the contract
which was entered into by the previous UNC administration.
Desalcott was awarded the project to construct the desalination
plant which is in Pt Lisas.
Karamath, a high-ranking contractor, yesterday appeared before
Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim in the Port-of-Spain Fourth
Court and was granted $1 million bail.
The prosecutor had objected to Rajcoomar’s application
for bail, saying that the prosecution needed to verify whether
Karamath, 50, had any other matters before the courts.
However, Rajcoomar said he was surprised with the prosecutor’s
position, as Karamath’s arrest was due to an on-going
investigation by the police.
Rajcoomar also reminded the court that his client had willingly
given himself up, as he had indicated he would in a letter
to the Bureau dated March 17.
He said his client was a well-known business and family man
and presented no flight-risk.
“Does
your client travel extensively, Mr Rajcoomar?” asked
Lee Kim.
At this time, Rajcoomar volunteered to have Karamath surrender
his passport to the court.
When Karamath said he did not have the document with him,
Lee Kim reminded Rajcoomar that bail would not be posted until
it was handed over to the court.
However, the passport was later surrendered to the court.
The matter was adjourned to June 6 and transferred to the
Eighth Court.
The charges were laid by acting Insp John Telesford.
In January 2005, investigators raided Karamath’s home
and office in search of documents.
Karamath owns 60 per cent of the issued share capital of Desalcott,
in partnership with Ionics, a US firm that specialises in
the building and operation of desalination plants.
In a Guardian interview last year, Karamath denied any corruption
in the construction of the plant, which cost an estimated
US$120 million.
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