Raul Gutierrez and Eduardo Hillman-Waller, agreed to repay US$24.5 million from proceeds of the Piarco Airport scandal in Trinidad and Tobago. The TnT Government are expected to collect up to US$6 million from the sum.
Both Gutierrez and Hillman-Waller along with four others who previously plead guilty, have also agreed to testify against Trinidadians Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh. Galbaransingh and Ferguson are currently fighting extradition to the United States.The US court in Miami heard how Gutierrez and Hillman-Waller conspired with Galbaransingh and Ferguson to artificially inflate the cost of the Piarco Airport project to ensure they received the lucrative contracts.
The two Americans are thought to be the masterminds of the plot to defraud the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago. It is alleged that Galbaransingh and Ferguson along with other government ministers at the time paved the way for the plan to be executed smoothly.
The breakdown on the money agreed to be repaid is as follows:
Hillman-Waller: US$22.5 million (includes sale of property and other assets)
Gutierrez: US$2 million (includes sale of property)
Out of this money, American banks are making claim to US$18.5 million, leaving US$6 million for Trinidad and Tobago.
