Central Bank Pursues $18.8M Recovery in Alleged Forged Cheque Scheme

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago has initiated a High Court lawsuit, seeking to recover nearly $18.8 million reportedly lost in an alleged fraud scheme. The scheme involved a Government cheque worth $20 million, allegedly forged and deposited into the account of NiPat General Contractors Limited. The bank has implicated NiPat’s directors, Nigel Patterson Vincent and Jackqui Watson-Vincent, in the purported scheme.

The cheque was said to have originated from the former Ministry of Planning and Development. However, investigations reveal that the ministry had neither issued the cheque, nor had it been indebted to NiPat, casting doubts on the authenticity of the cheque. The Central Bank alleges that the instrument was fraudulently processed through the Electronic Cheque Clearing System, leading to the crediting of $20 million to NiPat’s account.

Between October 5 and October 25, 2023, about $18.77 million was transferred out of NiPat’s account through numerous transactions. The bank alerted Republic Bank about the alleged fraud, prompting the freezing of the account. Sadly, only around $1.23 million was left at the time, resulting in a net loss of $18,766,837.24 for the Central Bank.

The matter surfaced in 2026 when Auditor General Jaiwantee Ramdass flagged two suspicious cheques. Current Governor Larry Howai subsequently granted the Auditor General unrestricted access to the Central Bank’s systems, leading to the discovery of the alleged irregularities. The bank has retained Freedom Law Chambers to pursue the claim, seeking restitution, damages for fraud and deceit, and compensation for breach of trust among other reliefs. The case, yet to be proven, continues in court under Justice Sherlanne Pierre.