I listened with much alarm to an interview on one of our morning talk shows with Don Crawford, the former CEO of the failed Century National Bank, who made some startling allegations of impropriety in our justice system and malintent in the case against him.

Listening to him, I wondered whether he had forgotten that he had taken his case to the Privy Council and had lost. Then I heard him asserting that this was because he had not been able to afford the best lawyers, as he did not have access to his funds. Well, Mr Crawford, welcome to the reality of the vast majority of Jamaicans, many of whom are on death row because they could not afford a good lawyer.

the judgement

So he lost the case because of his lawyers. It could not have been that the law lords were convinced by the evidence in the case. I researched and found a copy of the judgment on the Privy Council's website, and what I found was quite damning of Mr Crawford and his management of the Century National Bank.

What I found in the judgment from the Privy Council is in total agreement with the chief justice's ruling. In one paragraph, they stated that the chief justice's description of the sale to Mr Crawford of a bank property at book value and giving him 18 months to pay the sale amount as being curious was "by no means an exaggeration".

They stated further that "the consolidated proceedings raised many grave issues as to his stewardship of the whole group of companies", and while they agreed with Mr Crawford's lawyer that his actions may not constitute 'actual fraud', in the view of the law lords, they amounted to equitable fraud.

apology needed

Mr Crawford should apologise to the many Jamaicans who were duped by his urbane manner and supposed loyalty to Jamaica.

Undoubtedly, the harsh economic climate at the time had an impact on financial institutions but it is clear, in hindsight, that those institutions that acted properly stood the test of time.

On the matter of the FINSAC enquiry, when it is found that government policy did have a negative effect on businesses at the time, what next? Are we, the taxpayers, going to be called upon to make restitution to the 'Finsacked entrepreneurs'? I sincerely hope not.

I am, etc.,

HELENE DAVIS-WHYTE

hdaviswhyte@yahoo.com