DMITRI SINGH, the Appliance Traders Ltd (ATL)/Sandals Group general counsel, yesterday opined that three former ATL executives had committed fraud regarding the distribution of surplus from the pension fund.
Singh gave the opinion and listed a few reasons for his view while responding to questions from Queen’s Counsel Frank Phipps under cross-examination.“I thought it was fraud,” Singh said as he explained how he reached the conclusion, in the tense and testy post-lunch session that saw a defence attorney, with voice raised, angrily address the presiding magistrate saying: “I’ll say it as politely as I can…”Singh — who is giving evidence in the ATL pension fraud case in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court in Half-Way-Tree — based his opinion on the following:* the four reported forged letters purporting to give consent to the distribution of the surplus* that accused Patrick Lynch, the former chairman of the ATL group pension fund, had told ATL group Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, when confronted about the distribution of the surplus, on December 15, 2010, that he wasn’t aware that consent was needed, and* that the letters were presented the following day by Catherine Barber, the former general manager of the fund, when she was asked by Stewart about the matter of consent.Singh had testified during his examination-in-chief on Monday that the letters — which had the signature of Dr Jeffery Pyne, a former director of Gorstew Ltd, which is the holding company of Stewart’s companies — though dated as far back as 1998 appeared to be typed on new paper. He said the paper were not worn nor discoloured. Singh said that the letters were all signed with the same colour ink and typed in the same font.The prosecution is contending that the letters were created on December 15, 2010, the day Stewart confronted Lynch about the distribution. The prosecution believes that the letters were then backdated to 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2008. Importantly Pyne had left the company seven months before December 15.The prosecution is also contending that Pyne, the third accused in the case, Lynch and Barber conspired in the forging of the letters to deceive Gorstew that consent was given for the distribution of $1.7 billion in pension surplus.Earlier yesterday, Singh was cross-examined by Phipps (representing Lynch) about instructions he gave to forensic expert Erich Speckin when he (Singh) took the letters to Florida on December 17, 2010 for a determination to be made on whether they were created at or about the same time.Singh said he instructed Speckin to test the ink and toner in the letters to see of they were the same used on the letters. He said that the date the ink was created can be determined by the test done.Phipps had set out to show that Singh went to Speckin with instructions to prove that the letters were created in December 2010 but Singh stuck to his guns that this wasn’t his instructions.At one point, Phipps who appeared agitated, insisted that Senior Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams had the power to punish Singh if he did not answer the question he (Phipps) was asking.Near the end of the session, Queen’s Counsel KD Knight, who is Pyne’s attorney, took over the cross-examination of Singh. It is to continue this morning.View the original article here
ATL pension fraud case: troubling ink, forged letters and a forensic expert
