Kamla to Jack: Stop humiliating T&T

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private security guards working with member of parliament for chaguanas west jack warner jostled with members of the international press, as warner made his way out of parliament on friday: Photo by Ishmael Salandy

private security guards working with member of parliament for chaguanas west jack warner jostled with members of the international press, as warner made his way out of parliament on friday: Photo by Ishmael Salandy

private security guards working with member of parliament for chaguanas west jack warner jostled with members of the international press, as warner made his way out of parliament on friday: Photo by Ishmael Salandy

private security guards working with member of parliament for chaguanas west jack warner jostled with members of the international press, as warner made his way out of parliament on friday: Photo by Ishmael Salandy

PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday appealed to Jack Warner to stop bringing the country into shame, humiliation and disrepute.

Speaking in Parliament at the International Waterfront Port of Spain, where several members of the foreign media were seated, Persad-Bissessar said the country had, over a period of years, been able to establish itself on the world stage.

Now, she said, the entire globe was focused on Trinidad and Tobago “not for anything right and good”.

Persad-Bissessar said she had suffered “great distress…because of the actions of one man”.

Warner, the political leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) and a former FIFA Vice President, has been indicted in the United States on charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering related to his time at FIFA.

On Wednesday, Warner said at a political meet, and in an address to the nation, that he had evidence which linked FIFA's money with funding for the Peoples Partnership general election campaign in 2010.

His claims have been widely reported in the international media.

Persad-Bissessar, who has denied using any of Warner's money to fund the campaign, said on Friday: “we worked so hard to grow that international image. Today, this image is under threat. One citizen has brought us into disrepute, shame and humiliation. We call upon that member from Chaguanas West, that he do all that he can to cooperate with US authorities”.

Warner was asked to give what information he had to US authorities and “end this very sordid period of the nation's history. Let's end the shame and scandal. One man has brought us here…I appeal to his sense of patriotism…and redeem his native land…cooperate and do what's right so we can list one again the image of Trinidad and Tobago”.

On Tuesday Warner was among six former and current FIFA executives placed on INTERPOL's wanted list on charges including corruption, conspiracy and racketeering.

The Red Notices were issued a day after FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he would be resigning, as the corruption investigation into FIFA deepens.

The six on INTERPOL's list are among nine FIFA officials and five sports media and promotions executives, who have been indicted in the United States on charges related to bribes amounting to $150 million.

Warner is accused of accepting a US $10 million bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup. Officials in South Africa have denied that the money was a bribe.

He appeared in court last week, after the US began extradition proceedings seeking to have him brought to the US to face trial. Warner, who is out on $2.5 million bail, has denied wrong-doing and claimed that the charges are part of a US “witch-hunt” meant to punish him for his support of Qatar's 2022 World Cup.

Us prosecutors on Thursday unsealed the guilty plea hearing transcripts of Warner's Daryan And Daryll.

According to US media reports, Daryan Warner pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion in October 2013,

in relation to a ticket reselling scam for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

In the documents, Warner made “substantial profits” buying World Cup tickets from FIFA then illegally selling them at marked-up prices through a Florida-based ticket broker who is named as co-conspirator in the case.

The scam also involved two unnamed family members who at the time were FIFA officials, according the court documents.

Daryan Warner profited at least $1,177,843.95 running his ticket scam for the 2006 World Cup.

As part of the plea deal, Daryan Warner agreed to cooperate with the government in its ongoing investigation of FIFA, including going undercover if necessary.

Daryll Warner pleaded guilty in July 2013 to wire fraud, and “structuring,” which refers to attempting to structure financial transactions in a way that wouldn't trigger federal currency reporting requirements.

Federal prosecutors also alleged that Warner, a one-time FIFA development officer focussed on the Caribbean, obtained a mortgage loan “on the basis of false information” and then used the loan to finance a property in Miami.

Warner testified that the Miami property was “intended for use by my father, my brother and myself.”

Warner also admitted to deliberately breaking up cash deposits into amounts of less than $10,000 “in order to avoid the filing of the requisite report.”