Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne of Trinidad and Tobago
They say that Browne was hard done by during some business dealings with the bank.
Reached in Barbados on Friday, Browne denied all of the allegations contained in the court papers filed against him and his company, MB Investments Inc and deferred comment to his lawyer Alair Shepherd.
The court papers, however, contend that Browne was responsible for the sale of certificates, purportedly issued by the bank, in a security which did not exist.
Since Mariano Browne is only accused and not convicted of anything, I guess the BLP and Mascoll are in the clear.
Browne took up the realm, so to me this seems more of a case of sour grapes than anything else.
It is even more serious now that Browne is the Finance minister of a country that has huge investments in Barbados and is a major trading partner.
makes US wonder who the silent beneficiaries of the whole aborted bank deal were to be if Mariano Browne had been successful in pulling it off without, ahem, problems.
Oh well, Browne doesnt have to to worry - In the long term in any Barbados court action Mariano Browne is sure to have the secret support of an old BLP friend: former Barbados Attorney General and now Chief Justice David Simmons.
On the flip side, Browne is said to be a financial supporter and close associate of Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur and his Barbados Labour Party (BLP.
Browne was associated with the Arthur party whilst Parris and the Clico group is associated with the Thompson party.
Now Browne is Minister in the Ministry of Finance, we will see negativity with the Clico grouping in Trinidad.
Regarding accommodation for these visitors, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne said cruise ships would be used to house approximately 4,500 visitors, who included foreign media, as only 1,700 hotel rooms were available.
Browne said there would be about 4,000 visitors and approximately 1,000 media personnel.
Browne was speaking at yesterdays post-Cabinet news conference, held at the Prime Ministers office, St Clair Avenue, St Clair.
In stating that a substantial number of aircraft was expected to be in the airport for the summit, Browne was asked whether some of those aircraft would be private jets.
Browne said the northern side of Piarco would treat with commercial traffic, but Government would do remedial work to the southern side of Piarco to cater for official visitors.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne has admitted that the government did not anticipate the present economic hardship being as widespread as it has become.
Browne said while the world was not in a recession, "many of the developing countries are, and day by day you will see the effects of the crisis as it deepens.
Browne said the government was looking at proposals to diversify the public service employees pension plan as part of government's diversification of the local economy.
TT has no plan in place to deal with a financial meltdown similar to what is happening in the US and internationally, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne said yesterday.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Browne said the move has been considered in light of the spillover effects of the sharp decline in global oil prices and the slight decline in gas prices have had on the revenues from the export of oil, petroleum products, ammonia, methanol and urea.
Camini stirred the political waters on Sunday with her front page story that Mr Browne was involved in a legal battle with his former bosses in Barbados.
But in a full page ad in the daily newspapers today, Mr Browne says the allegations are "baseless and of no merit.
Asked whether Government, through State-owned National Flour Mills, was entertaining a subsidy to provide relief to the consumer against increases in flour and animal feed prices, Browne said these increases were part of worldwide demand and Government could not do anything about it.
On rising steel prices, Browne said Trinidad and Tobago as other countries in the world was in the middle of a cycle in which the price of commodities was rising substantially.
Browne said the initiative to distribute Caroni lands, which involves the sharing out of two-acre lots to over 7,000 persons, was being developed as we speak.
On the proposal to have mega farms, Browne said Government was receiving and evaluating bids for ten farms of 100 acres.
Told that this would lead to further price increases across the board, Browne said removal of the gas subsidy was clearly not the issue, since prices were rising even with the subsidy in place.
Minister Mariano Browne expresses confidence in government's ability to achieve revenue targets.
Browne was appointed Minister in the Ministry of Finance on December 3rd 2007.
Minister Browne was also Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Commercial Bank Limited, a position he held from 1993 to January 2004.
Minister Browne is a past student of St.
Minister Browne is also a member of ICAB and ICATT, a former Vice President of ICATT and former treasurer of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne says the money has not yet been spent on the acquisition.
Is this suppose to make the working class citizens of Trinidad & Tobago feel good? Mariano Browne said yesterday the Government had given only $312,000,000 to Caribbead Airlines to buy the jet, and not 378,000,000 million.
Mariano Browne says no laws were broken when a Company owned by the Chairman of the Home Mortgage Bank bought 110 million dollars of the shares.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne described Moody's findings as "good.
Browne said it was useful to hear a positive review of the economy coming from an international source.
Browne was speaking in the aftermath of warnings issued by Congress of the Peoples Carolyn Seepersad-Bachanduring her partys council meeting at the Belmont Community Centrethat international financial institutions and banks would not have the finance for government projects as a result of the global credit crunch.
As it related to arrangements that had not yet been finalised, borrowing might be harder to do, Browne said yesterday, adding, It could happenit might happen.
On the issue of oil and gas exploration, Browne said if the commodities did not meet an economic price, there would be no exploration.
The loan for this initiative may not be withdrawn, as Browne said an offer was currently on the table and that the project was not being financed at open-market rates.
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning's new Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne has been accused of financial impropriety and corporate misbehaviour by his former employer, the Bridgetown-based Caribbean Commercial Bank Ltd (CCB), now RBTT Bank Barbados Ltd.
Reached in Barbados on Friday, Browne denied all of the allegations contained in the court papers filed against him and his company, MB Investments Inc.
In Browne's defence, Shepherd held that his client "did no more or no less than previous heads of the bank" and that Browne was in fact following "the procedure adopted by previous managers" when he approved bonus payments.
Browne said he would take up his appointment in Trinidad and Tobago as Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance from December 3.
A clearly emotional Browne, whose father Lisle Browne was Barbadian, said "Barbados had been a wonderful experience.
Browne said many politicians, including Manning, have to endure the stresses of public life, in addition to other medical conditions such as heart conditions.
Browne said the country faces an important time as Manning is due to undergo surgery.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne has been making the rounds of the television talkshow circuit recently looking to defend the Minister of Finance's decision to peg the 2009 budget revenue numbers on an oil price of US$70 a barrel and a natural gas price of US$4 per unit.
Minister of Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne is insisting that money from the Heritage and Stabilization Fund is safe in light of the financial crisis facing the United States.
However, responding to the concerns, Minster Browne said the details pertaining to the HSF are sensitize.
think an ESOP was ever set up by Mittal.
As for the impact on the Eurozone recession on the Trinidad economy, which significantly benefits from investments from European-based energy giants such as bp, British Gas and Repsol, Browne said he does not anticipate it will be anything too serious.
The full impact or the likely impact is mitigated to that extent," Browne said of the EU-based companies.
He said the performance of the international financial markets are likely to "remain inconsistent for sometime", since one day they can appear to be moving upwards towards a recovery and then downwards the following day Browne said this is "one of the most interesting times" that Trinidad and Tobago has ever gone through, as he touted the nation's strong reserves position and low level of unemployment as just two examples of its ability to deal with any global recession, as opposed to that which caused severe difficulties for the local economy in the 1980s.
Nonetheless, Browne said "we are in tight times" and if world commodity prices, such as those for oil, continue to fall, then "we will have to revise what our numbers are.
Browne was responding to a statement made by Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira in a morning radio interview yesterday.
Browne said TTs approximate monthly contribution of $6 million to the fund is the largest because this country is the biggest Caricom economy.
Minister in the Finance Ministry Mariano Browne said yesterday the Government had advanced only (US)$52 million to CA for the jet acquisition, and not (US)$63 million which CA chairman Arthur Lok Jack had claimed on Wednesday.
MINISTER in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne fuelled further controversy over Caribbean Airlines' (CA) plan to acquire a $400 million (US$65 million) executive jet, when he disclosed yesterday that US$52 million ($312 million) and not US$63 million ($378 million) was advanced to CA, for the jet acquisition.
MINISTER in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne denied that removing the $2 billion gasoline-subsidy would aggravate inflation which currently stands at ten percent.
Browne was answering reporters' questions at yesterday's post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall which became heated.
Mariano Browne takes oath Posted: Tuesday, December 4, 2007Enter special squad to protect shoppersA special squad is being established this Christmas season, with the specific goal of targeting pickpockets in and around Port-of-Spain.
Manning defends 'unusual' remarkNew minister Mariano Browne takes oath 'My Children concerned about media focus'Minister in Ministry of Finance pledges to do his bestBrowne feels heatManning: I am not perfect, nobody isRamesh:Parliament by Dec 14Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj yesterday warned Prime Minister Patrick Manning that the Opposition UNC Alliance would take Government to court if the Ninth Parliament is not convened by next Friday (December 14.
Prof disputes Minister's facts on HIV infectionThe rate of HIV infection in Trinidad and Tobago is higher in males than females, Minister of Social Development Dr Amery Browne said yesterday.
Local car companies submitted such expensive bids to lease 200 VIP vehicles for summits in Port of Spain next year that Government may have to turn to foreign auto dealers for the luxury rides, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne said yesterday.
Browne said in an interview yesterday that the rent or lease option auto dealers submitted might not be viable because the costs made it almost "no different from (the State) buying the cars.
Browne is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, St.
Browne was Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Butterfield, Barbados.
Browne is a Deputy Chairman of the Barbados National Sports Council.
Browne has published and presented several papers on banking and finance, including a presentation on Managing Banking Crisis to the Plenary Session of XV World Congress of Accounts held in Paris in October 1997.