Michael Peyrefitte hits back: ‘Question still has not been answered’

Published by BBNTEAM at January 11, 2022

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Posted: Tuesday, January 11, 2022. 11:41 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: Senator Michael Peyrefitte has offered a counter to the Prime Minister’s response to him issued on Monday.

According to Peyrefitte, the $12 million already budgeted by the Government is added to the $20 million cost for the Superbond which he said was provided by the bondholders to pay the closing costs.

The former Attorney General says he was questioning the $15 million supplementary allocation for the Blue Bond transaction and not the previous transactions, and he specifically asked what was paid to each lawyer and advisor and where did the money come from? Further, no documentation was provided for the payments, which calls into question when these individuals got paid and whether it predates the October supplementary allocation.

Essentially, says Peyrefitte, the letter appears to be distracting from the essential question he asked: if you already had $32 million paid out, why did you need $15 million more? It is not the “non-issue” the Prime Minister suggests it is, Peyrefitte argued.

And even if the transactions from 2013 and 2017 were multiplied, the total cost is still less than the $47 million he alleges the current Government spent – or perhaps hasn’t been spent yet.

Peyrefitte has said he will take the matter to the Ombudsman’s office and the Supreme Court if he is not satisfactorily responded to by this Friday.

The response is part of a general press conference called by the Opposition United Democratic Party about which we will have more in subsequent stories.

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