As of 4 pm yesterday, state-owned oil company Petrotrin was saying that the pre-action protocol letter sent to the company on behalf of A&V Oil and Gas was “receiving Petrotrin’s attention.”
Petrotrin had been given until 4 pm to issue a public written statement “clearly and unequivocally affirming that while A&V has been the subject of an internal audit report dated 17th August 2017,” the findings were preliminary and inconclusive and that in the circumstances the company’s chairman Wilfred Espinet and president Fitzroy Harewood “withdraw any statements or inferences which suggests that A&V is guilty of fraud and or fraudulent conduct.”
A&V also gave the company seven days in which to settle a US$6.3 million dollar debt owed to it for crude oil supplied for June and July.
On Thursday, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said he expected to receive the final report with recommendations from the board.
Former energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan meanwhile says she was of the view that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley should mandate the Petrotrin board to immediately forward the report dealing with the fraudulent sales of indigenous crude oil to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the acting Commissioner of Police (CoP).
She said “on the face of it there are criminal charges to be laid” adding she fears any further delay in submitting and dealing with the contents of the report may result in evidence tampering and give time for implicated persons to cover their tracks.