De Freitas says gov’t owes him ‘$2,357,000 plus interest’

Businessman Marcus De Freitas says that the government has paid him EC$3.7 million for his properties that it acquired in Beachmont 20 years ago and not EC$4.7 million, as Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Parliament in January.

De Freitas further said that the government still owes him “$2,357,000 plus interest”.

De Freitas told iWitness News in January that he was overseas and would respond to the prime minister on his return.

He issued on Friday a statement that was circulated to the media on Monday.

The matter came into focus again on Jan. 9 when East Kingstown MP and opposition lawmaker, Fitz Bramble raised it in a question for oral answer in Parliament.

In the question, Bramble said that a final court judgment was made in 2004, ordering the government to pay De Freitas, a former parliamentarian and government minister and constituent of East Kingstown, EC$4.7 million for the acquisition of the property for the construction of a new Parliament building.

He said the government was given two years to pay the money in full or pay a 5% penalty per year for each year the money was not paid to De Freitas.

He asked the minister to tell Parliament whether De Freitas had been paid the EC$4.7 million owed to him and when this payment was made.

“If Mr. De Freitas has not been paid the full amount, why has he not been paid; and if the response to part (ii) is negative, when will Mr. De Freitas be paid the full amount,” Bramble said.

The prime minister, responding in this capacity as minister of legal affairs, said there was “no court judgment for $4.7 million” and gave what he said was the background of the matter.

Duty-bound to refute PM

In his statement, De Freitas said his company, De Freitas Investment Holdings Ltd., owned three properties at Murray Road that were acquired by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.

“Since this claim was widely reported in the media, I, Marcus De Freitas, managing director of the company, is duty bound to refute the prime minister’s statement not only for myself but on behalf of all those persons who supported me over the years and the public at large,” De Freitas said.

“I categorically state that the Prime Minister’s utterance is very far from the truth in material respects. I further state that the government only paid $3,743.785 and not $4.7 million.”

He said that in light of the EC$1 million difference, the government should disclose to the public all evidence of payments to his company.

He said that on or about January 2005, the government paid his bankers EC$1,743,785 on behalf of the company to convey the properties to the government.

On or about June 30, 2022, the government paid EC$1 million to the company, De Freitas said, adding that the government then paid EC$500,000 to his company on or about Sept. 5, 2022.

Then, on or about Feb. 20, 2024, the government paid $500,000 to the company.

“Based on the above payments, any reasonable person would conclude that the government only paid $3.7 million and not $4.7 million as asserted by the prime minister,” De Freitas said. Providing background to the matter, De Freitas said that the government acquired the three properties on or about June 18, 2004, and this was published in the Gazette on or about June 29, 2004.

He noted that this was over 20 years ago.

He said that the government valued the three properties at EC$1,743,785, “almost exclusively equal to the mortgage loan balance”.

The company disagreed with the government’s valuation and made its case before an established tribunal, headed by High Court judge Bruce-Lyle (now deceased), John Thompson (now deceased), representing the government, and Greg McCleod representing De Freitas’ company.

The hearing took place in March 2007 and the tribunal’s decision/order was issued in November 2007.

The order required the government to pay the company approximately EC$4.1, inclusive of the value of the properties and about EC$370,000.00 for loss of business profits, plus EC$ 20,000 for cost.

De Freitas said the order also required the government to pay 5% interest, effective November 2007, on the unpaid amount until the judgment debt is liquidated.

“As a rule, with regards to a debt obligation, the hitherto cash instalment payment of $2 million, we applied to the accrued interest in this circumstance. The unpaid principal debt is $2,357,000 plus interest to date,” De Freitas said.

He said that the government appealed the tribunal’s order to the High Court on the primary ground that the tribunal failed to allow Adolphus Ollivierre, the chief surveyor, to respond to the valuation report issued by chartered accountant Stanley De Freitas.

He said the tribunal found Adolphus Ollivierre not to be credible, as stated in the  findings of the tribunal “and perhaps this could have been the reason why the tribunal did not see it fit for his rebuttal of Mr. Stanley De Freitas’ evidence.”

De Freitas said that at the High Court hearing, the chairman of the appeal panel, in her address to Richard Williams, attorney for the government, made three statements.

All of these statements, he said, “began with the words ‘you will agree’ that since Mr. Marcus DeFreitas has been waiting for a very long time, the matter could be easily settled by recalling the tribunal to address the primary ground for the appeal but the Government refused this approach and demanded a redo of the tribunal – in other words – the establishment of a new tribunal to retry issues that were already ventilated and resolved, except for the said primary ground for the appeal”.  

De Freitas noted that while the government paid EC$1.5 million in 2022 and $500,000 in 2024, these monies were credited to interest.

“According to the judgment order rendered by the tribunal, the government still owes my company $2,357,000 plus interest,” he said.

De Freitas further noted the timeline between the government’s acquisition of the properties in 2004, the first payment to his bank in January 2005 and the dates of the other payments: in June and September 2022 and February 2024.

“I wish again to sincerely thank all those who supported me, keeping this matter alive, in the minds of the public,” De Freitas said in his statement.

PM: ‘All the moneys were collected’

In his answer to Parliament in January, Gonsalves said that after the acquisition of the properties in 2004, De Freitas was dissatisfied with the proposed amount for the compensation and asked for the matter to go before the Board of Assessment, as allowed under the Land Acquisition Act.

He said the government valuator had valued the property at EC$1,743,785. 

The prime minister said the government’s representative on the Board of Assessment increased the sum by EC$200,000, to EC$1,943,785.

He noted the composition of the Board of Assessment adding that the three-member board was split 2-1 with Bruce-Lyle and McLeod — De Freitas’ representative — agreeing and Thompson disagreeing with the findings.

Gonsalves said that the Board of Assessment judgment came on Oct. 2, 2008, adding that he did not know about any final court judgment.

“They awarded 4.2 million plus $20,000 cost and the judgment which they gave, the assessment which they gave, was to attract a 5% interest on the whole of the judgment.”

He said the government appealed this decision and on Nov.  25, 2010, the Court of Appeal allowed the government’s appeal.

“And the matter was remitted by the court of appeal to the board for a new assessment. So there had to be a new board established,” Gonsalves said.

He said that over the period, the chief justice named the chairman and the government named their representative but De Freitas Investments Limited did not name anybody.

“Now, it’s quite possible, if you don’t name for the two members to go along,” he said, adding that the government did not want to proceed like that, although the law allows it.

Gonsalves said Justice Thom was named to the board but went on to the Court of Appeal so another jurist had to be named.

“And then somebody else was named as the judge. We named our representative and De Freitas Investments Ltd. failed or refused to submit a name.”

The prime minister said that in the meanwhile, the government was elaborating its plans to build a hall of justice on the land acquired from De Freitas.

“I said to my colleagues, ‘This thing is going on too long, and I’d like to bring closure to this thing before we do anything up there, either with the Parliament next door or the Hall of Justice,’ Gonsalves said.

He said “the original payment of what we had said first, 1,743,785, … was made” in 2004 and the matter went through various legal processes.

Gonsalves said there was no new board of assessment for the reasons he had indicated.

“And over the period, I went to the Cabinet and said, ‘Listen, I don’t want to have any building go there without we make further payments, even though this is beyond what our valuer had said.’ and our representative had said, on the basis of the evidence before him at the initial Board of Assessment, carry it to 1.9 [million dollars]”.

He said the total amount of money paid “thus far” is EC$4,743,785.

“Now, I received letters say, well, the interesting thing might come more. We are not paying a judgment because there was no judgment,

“If you think the $4,743,785 not enough, request another Board of Assessment if you want more money. All the moneys were collected. From the money in 2004, 2021 money, 2022 money. The last money is 2024,” Gonsalves said.