Government today claimed that false cheques had been created to imply that money had been paid to Government Ministers from the contractors on the Police/Court building.

Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess said that his permanent secretary had been looking at the books in response to queries from the Auditor General.

At an extraordinary press conference held at Cabinet Office, attended by Cabinet Ministers and top civil servants, Mr. Burgess said: “The Permanent Secretary saw in the Ministry’s files records of two cheques which he found immediately of interest:

● A Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd. cheque numbered 0123 in the amount of $14,780 in favour of “Dr E Brown”, and

● Another Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd. cheque, this one numbered 0170 in the amount of $10,000 in favour of “D Burgess”.

Mr. Burgess went on: “These purport to be of completed cheque transactions sent by the Bank of Bermuda to Landmark and subsequently submitted by Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd. to my Ministry.

“As part of our investigation, however, we had asked Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd. now LLC Bermuda, to produce the entirety of their actual bank records.

“It took very little time to discover that the two cheques to which I have just referred never existed.”

Mr. Burgess claimed the copies contained in the Ministry’s records were fabrications of the true originals which themselves were:

n Another Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd, cheque bearing the same number 0123 in the same amount of $14,780 but this time in favour of Scorpio Construction Ltd and

n Another Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd. cheque bearing the same number 0170 in the amount of $10,000 but this time in favour of Chester Management.

Mr. Burgess added: “We have confirmed that the versions of the cheques which are in LLC Bermuda Ltd’s possession are identical to those held by the Bank of Bermuda.”

He said the funds arising from these cheques were never deposited into the account of any Cabinet Minister. “These funds reached their intended destination,” he added.

Mr. Burgess said Landmark had confirmed that the only version of its bank records that it would supply are the original records supplied by the Bank and still in their possession.

And he said Landmark insists that no cheque has been issued, and no payment has been made, by them to any Cabinet Minister at any time.

Mr. Burgess said rampant speculation in the community over the issue had been “very hurtful indeed”.

“With the deepest outrage and feeling of insult, we come immediately to the public via this press conference in order to reveal this information, to express that outrage and, now through the Premier Dr. the Honourable Ewart F Brown JP MP, to discuss actions which this Government has taken and which we intend to take in the immediate aftermath of this shocking and deeply disturbing discovery.”

Premier Ewart Brown said it was right to bring the matter to the public’s attention immediately.

He added: “The matter will also be the subject of a thorough Police investigation to determine what crimes may have been committed by the fabrication and falsification of these documents and their distribution by a person or persons unknown.”

Those acts were clearly committed with the intention that they should be used to sully the reputation of the Government and to damage, if not destroy, reputations, said Premier Brown.

“It is clear that they may also have been used to support and to catalyse invasive, costly and time-consuming investigations into Government’s actions in relation to the Court/Police station project.

“Let the word go forth that no stone will be left unturned in this Government’s efforts to uncover the source and purpose of these foul acts.”

●

●

●