Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has confirmed that a private company headed by a Barbadian businessman was seeking to purchase covid-19 vaccines for this country but insists that no government money was used in the deal.

Miss Bradshaw has made the admission while responding to concerns expressed by members of the public and the opposition over a court case filed in the US in which the firm registered in the Caribbean is suing to recover millions of dollars paid to a US entity for covid-19 vaccines that were not delivered.

The law suit alleges a 6.7 million dollar fraud involving money paid for a million non-existent doses of Astra Zeneca covid-19 vaccines that were to be obtained through a company for Barbados and some of its regional neighbours.

She also confirmed that the deal falling through was the reason for the delays in Barbados getting vaccines.

Meantime, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, has also denied any direct Barbados government involvement in  the deal.

He said Radical Investments had proposed to the government that it would source vaccines for Barbados.

However, he noted that government was only expected to pay when the vaccines arrived in Barbados.

He was speaking this morning during a presentation of 20 thousand dollars donated by Co-Operators General Insurance to the National vaccination fund.

Mr. Straughn said what happened to Radical Investments was unfortunate and lessons can be learnt from the ordeal.