ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada-FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Gregory Bowen has been accused by the Tillman Thomas-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) of embezzling millions of dollars from Russian contracts.
According to Grenada Today, Prime Minister Thomas has approved a request by NDC Finance Minister Nazim Burke to have the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions investigate “a controversial payment allegedly made by the Russians under an oil and gas agreement signed with the ousted Keith Mitchell government”.
Upon receiving the go ahead, Burke is said to have turned over a number of documents that implicate Bowen, who served as Minister of Energy, in receiving funds from Russia’s Global Petroleum Group Ltd. and depositing them into a private bank account.
One submitted letter from the Russian firm is allegedly titled “Final Notice Before Legal Proceedings” and expressed dissatisfaction with Bowen failing to account for millions of dollars given to him in oil contracts.
The document further alleges that upon receipt the funds were transferred into the private account of NNP-selected Russian liaison Lev Model.
Model is a convicted felon in the United States justice system who served prison time for fraud in the 1990s. While working under Bowen, Model served as the head of the Call Centre at the Seamoon Industrial Estate in St. Andrew’s.
One government spokesperson who spoke to Grenada Today under the condition of anonymity said that the NDC plans to pursue the case vehemently as a matter of national interest.
“We are not passing any judgment on Mr. Bowen at this stage but we consider this matter to be very serious. It is our view that any money to be paid over by the Russians under the agreement ought to have been paid into the Consolidated Fund and not into any private account,” he stated.
Both Prime Minister Thomas and Finance Minister Burke declined to make a statement on the matter at the time.
Grenada News