The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has won a multimillion-dollar verdict in a U.S. court in a sprawling corruption lawsuit that began nearly 20 years ago and involves former high-ranking officials.
A jury in Miami awarded Trinidad more than 100 million US dollars in compensatory damages in a verdict late yesterday.
The civil case began in 2004 when the Trinidadian government sued a former finance minister, various businessmen and several companies in countries including Florida, Panama and Portugal.
Faris Al-Rawi, a former attorney general in Trinidad who represented the government in the case, told The Associated Press – quote – “We got everything that we asked for. This represents restitution to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” – unquote.
He added that the money can be used to build schools or provide healthcare
The lawsuit alleged that through bribes and other illicit schemes certain individuals and companies illegally obtained millions of dollars from the Trinidad and Tobago government in a scam beginning in August 1996.
Those parties that were sued are said illegally obtained consulting and construction contracts at hyper-inflated prices in connection with the expansion of the Piarco International Airport.
