VENTURE Credit union is clearing $23 million in debt accumulated by former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams.
In October 2019, co-operative development commissioner Andrea McKenna awarded the judgment for $23,540,269 to the union. A senior official of the union had told Newsday some of John-Williams’s loans dated as far back as 2013.
The official had said John-Williams had not been responding to any of the union’s queries nor did he contact it. In fact, even in September 2020 the credit union was still looking for him. In a newspaper ad, it John-Williams’s last known address was LP 1, Point Coco Estate, Irois Forest, Chatham, and asked him to “urgently visit the office to discuss matters of mutual interest.”
But in its 2020 annual report, the union said its board had agreed to write off over $70 million in “bad debt.”
“The president advised that this was a way to ‘clean up’ the books. He asked members to note that the debts are not forgiven as the organisation will continue to pursue recovery.”
The report also said, “Whereas Venture Credit Union Co-operative Society Ltd makes every effort to recover bad debts or delinquent loans in pursuance of the recoveries procedure of the society. And whereas Venture efforts to recover 480 accounts valued at the sum of $19,835,829.72 have proven futile.
“And whereas Venture has previously made loan loss provisions which fully cover the amount of $19,835,829.72. And whereas the board continues to pursue the recovery of bad debts or delinquent loans even after they have been written off."
SOURCE: T&T Newsday