BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER and leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party’s (SKNLP) Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas last night (Jan. 19) said that he does not own Lex Consulting LLC but does business with the company on behalf of his party.
Dr. Douglas was at the time responding to a question posed by the host of “Let’s Talk” on Von Radio concerning allegations made by leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) Lindsay Grant, that he has relation to a US bank account in which some EC$76M has passed through over a 15-year period.
“Lex Consulting is not my company. It is a private company that is established as far as I know in the United States of America. It has been providing services to the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party as early as maybe two elections ago,” Dr. Douglas said.
Dr. Douglas described the size of the EC$76M figure as “absolute nonsense”. He also gave an explanation to his ownership of a number of properties in the Federation.
“I, like anyone else, have recognised that one area that the country is really progressing is in the area of real estate and I have invested my hard earned money.
Whether it is what I have made from my salary or other investments or what I have borrowed from several banks here in St. Kitts-Nevis. In fact, I think I am indebted to almost every bank.”
Dr. Douglas declared that he only fully owns an office on Lozack Road and another one in St. Paul’s from when he was a practicing doctor. He further declared that all other properties have outstanding loans at the banks, adding, “The records are there for anyone to see.”
The SKNLP’s leader was a practicing doctor of medicine prior to his full-time political career. “I made money like any other doctor making money today. I saved and I invested. I have been investing from day one returning here in this country.”
At a political meeting held at Central Street on Tuesday, January 12, Grant produced documents from a yellow briefcase that allegedly link two bank accounts to PM Douglas.
The documents indicate that the accounts are registered to the business Lex Consulting LLC. Both accounts are held at the J. P. Morgan Chase Bank of North America under account numbers 000002391182553 and 000779501106365.
According to Grant, “The accounts which have seen millions and millions of dollars moving through each year are in the name of the Prime Minister’s long time and current girlfriend Ms. Kate Alex Woodley”, who Grant claimed is also said to be the mother of PM Douglas’ children, Dr. Andrea Douglas and Denzil Douglas Jr.
Woodley is currently employed by the St. Kitts-Nevis government at the Federation’s Consulate Office in Manhattan, for what Grant claimed is an estimated US$69 600 annual salary.
The account documents circulated by PAM show Lex Consulting LLC holding a “Chase Business Classic” account valued at more than half a million US dollars as recent as August 20, 2009.
The two monthly statements, one dating from September 2007 and the other from July 2009, also detail significant sums of money coming in and out of the account, including electronic withdrawals to prominent lawyer Sylvester Anthony totalling more than EC$1M and a transfer deposit of US$200 000 from the Commercial Bank of Kuwait.
Grant argued that the accounts have seen in excess of EC$71M pass through them during Douglas’ 15 years as Prime Minister, a time period that PAM estimates would have seen him earning only EC$3.6M from his government salary (somewhere between EC$17 000 - $20 000 a month).
Subsequent to the documents being released, SKNVibes was able to confirm via a directory check on Lex Consulting’s business line that Woodley is listed as the owner of the number and Manager of Lex Consulting LLC.
On Monday evening (Jan. 19), Grant furthered his accusations by releasing photocopies of Lex Consulting LLC cheques from a St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.
account numbered 42291. The cheques total US$5 000 to SKN Ground Handling Services on January 4, 2010; US $40 000 to the Labour Office Committee on January 13, 2010; and US $95 000 to PM Douglas on December 30, 2009.
Representatives of National Bank refused to confirm if the cheques were cashed or if Lex Consulting LLC does hold an account with that institution, stating that it was privileged information.
Shortly after the accusations were levelled against Dr. Douglas and Woodley, SKNVibes made numerous attempts to contact either party for a comment. On January 13 and 14, several calls and visits to Government Headquarters were made, but SKNVibes was repeatedly told that the PM was in a meeting and would likely be unavailable for a comment.
The following day (Jan. 15) was Nomination Day in St. Kitts-Nevis and SKNVibes was able to meet the PM as he registered his candidacy in Constituency Number Six. When asked his opinion on the allegations levelled by Grant and his party, Douglas responded “Lindsay Grant has no power in this Constituency” and refused to add further comments on the matter.
He was however contacted later in the day at the Labour Party’s Rally held at The Circus and again refused to offer a comment.
Multiple attempts were also made throughout the past week to contact Woodley at both the St. Kitts-Nevis Consulate and via Lex Consulting LLC’s business line, but those calls were never answered.
