BY: ANTONIO DEY | HGP NIGHTLY NEWS|
Good evening and welcome to Friday’s edition of the Regional News. I’m Antonio Dey.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO — BANK OFFICER FOUND LIABLE IN $30M FRAUD CONSPIRACY
A former Business Development Officer at Ansa Bank Limited has been found liable for his role in a massive $30 million fraudulent conspiracy that involved sham motor-vehicle loan arrangements.
Justice Frank Seepaul delivered the judgment on Thursday, ruling that Dwayne Roas acted in collusion with several roll-on/roll-off car dealerships to execute 34 fraudulent loan schemes.
The court found that Roas breached both his contractual and fiduciary duties to the bank.
Ansa Bank’s civil suit marks one of the country’s significant corporate fraud rulings in recent years.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO — KAMLA PERSAD-BISSESSAR WARNS “CARICOM MAY IMPLODE”
Still in Trinidad and Tobago—
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says it is “only a matter of time before CARICOM implodes,” warning regional leaders to stop interfering in the internal elections of member states.
Her comments came in response to media inquiries following allegations by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Gonsalves had accused financiers of Trinidad’s United National Congress (UNC) of backing the New Democratic Party (NDP) ahead of the November 27 general elections.
Persad-Bissessar strongly rejected the claims, saying she “categorically refutes and rejects these allegations.”
BANGLADESH — 5 DEAD, 100 INJURED AFTER 5.7 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE
And finally, on the international scene—
At least five people, including a child, were killed and around 100 injured after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck Bangladesh on Friday.
The tremor caused widespread structural damage across multiple communities, including the densely populated capital, Dhaka.
Tremors were also felt in neighboring Indian states bordering Bangladesh, though no major damage was reported there.
Bangladesh’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, said the injured included:
- Students from Dhaka University
- Factory workers in Gazipur
- Residents of Narsingdi, the earthquake’s epicenter
Authorities continue to assess the full extent of the damage.
