Grynberg In The House? MPs Face Sink or Sink Options!

A recent article in this paper, entitled Watergate to Grynberg: A Leap Not Too Far!, observed: “Thanks to contractual amendments to the original arrangements between Kenny Anthony and the Colorado oil prospector Jack Grynberg, the government of Saint Lucia stands almost no chance of beating the breach of contract suit pending before the ICSID, via which Grynberg hopes to collect damages in the amount of US$500 million.” Additionally, that “Grynberg has declared his readiness to drop his suit altogether, on condition the government is prepared to forget their troubles and dance with the slippery oilman.” In a follow-up article the question was posed: “Dear reader, what would you have our government do?”  

On Monday, the prime minister addressed the subject during a short interview: “I believe the best way is for us to go to parliament, present the matter and allow it to be debated so we agree as a country which way to go.” While not commenting on the legal details, he confirmed that “at this point we have to decide whether we’re going to fight Grynberg’s claims before the ICSID or whether both sides arrive at a more amicable resolution of the problem”.

According to a February report by the Denver Post: “An Arapahoe County jury determined Jack Grynberg never had a legitimate contract to run the companies he created, but had placed them in the names of his then wife and three children. As a result, they can fire him if they want to.” And they have, a development that has not escaped the prime minister. “One of the big changes that has taken place is Jack Grynberg himself is no longer a part of the company,” he told this reporter this week. “He was ousted by his family who now have control of the businesses. So really we’re now talking about a new group of people on this long-running issue. Since the ICSID’s ad hoc decision to permit the case to be heard on its merit, our attorney general has met with the government’s lawyers and briefed Cabinet. We’re in the process of looking at the next step, as I say. We’re considering all our options, then we’ll see what direction parliament wants to go. We hope soon to make an announcement.”