Mottley met with Nigerian billionaire

Finance Minister Christopher Sinckler continues to query the nature of the relationship between the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and Nigerian businessman Benedict Peters.

During the May 6th Democratic Labour Party (DLP) election campaign launch, he charged that members of the BLP met with the billionaire at the Barbados Hilton Resort and he called on Mia Mottley to explain the purpose of that meeting.

Mottley has remained mum, however Sinckler presented a letter to supporters at Carlisle Car Park on Sunday night as evidence of a meeting in 2016.

The candidate for St Michael North West disclosed that the “Pre-Action Protocol Letter” came from Attorney-at-law, Leslie Haynes Q.C., on behalf of his client, Peters, who complains that comments made during the said campaign launch defamed him.

Sinckler said Haynes letter read “In particular, you alleged that my client met with ‘the leadership of the Barbados Labour Party at the Hilton Hotel’ and the said leadership was seeking to get money from my client. You further suggested that my client was ‘funneling money into the Barbados elections just like the Russians were putting money in the American elections’. You categorically stated that ‘Nigerian money is trying to influence the outcome of the election’ clearly suggesting that my client is the source of such money.”

Furthermore, while describing Sinckler’s comments as “completely false, baseless and malicious,” Haynes also stated in the letter that Peters instructed him that he met with Ms. Mottley while on a family vacation in Barbados and the two discussed global affairs and investment opportunities in Barbados and the wider Caribbean, and since that meeting, back in September of 2016, he has not met with or had any contact with her or any member of the Barbados Labour Party.

“A Nigerian billionaire, travels all the way from Nigeria to Barbados stays at the Hilton on a family vacation, on which he found the time quite miraculously and unexplained to meet with Ms. Mottley, who up to now, has not yet admitted that she met with him. But, at least he skin the cat,” Sinckler pointed out.

“He didn’t meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He didn’t meet the Prime Minister of Barbados who has responsibility for Invest Barbados. He didn’t even meet with the Minister of International Business, Minister of Tourism or the Chamber of Commerce of Barbados. And he didn’t even meet with me and I am the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.”

“Up to now Ms Mottley has not been honest enough to say to the people of Barbados that she met with him…What investment opportunities was Ms Mottley meeting with him about? We want to know what she discussed with this Nigerian billionaire… I am waiting on her because if she says anything less than what is satisfactory about what was discussed in that meeting, I am telling you I am prepared to call her a heinous perpetrator of terminological inexactitudes,” he told supporters to the DLP meeting. (TL)