Grenada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of energy, Gregory Bowen has put in a defense in a multi-million dollar bribery case filed against him by U.S oil investor, Jack Grynberg in a court in New York.

The Number Two man in the ruling New National Party (NNP) government in St. George's has retained the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to represent him in this case which is coming up for hearing on Thursday (April 5).

The first legal hurdle to be cleared by Bowen is to get the judge to set aside the move made by Grynberg to obtain a default judgement against the senior Grenada government minister.

The American investor is suing Bowen and three Russians for US$500, 000.00 in damages over an oil and gas agreement that went sour.

GRENADA TODAY was able to obtain from legal sources in New York a statement that was issued by Minister Bowen to the New York court.

It reads:

DECLARATION OF GREGORY BOWEN

(1). I am one of the defendants in this action. I am the Deputy Prime Minister of Grenada, and the Minister for Agriculture and Energy. I am a citizen and resident of Grenada, which is a sovereign state of a little less than 100,000 citizens.

(2). I ask that no default judgment be entered against me by this Court. I am advised that no default judgment should be entered against me (i) if my failure to timely answer the complaint was not willful (ii) if plaintiffs would suffer no prejudice by the failure to enter a default judgment, and (iii) if I have meritorious defenses in this lawsuit. All three are true. This should be plain from the accompanying submission of my attorneys and my statement below.

(3). At the center of this case is a dispute that is already the subject of an arbitration before the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") between plaintiff RSM Production Corporation and the Government of Grenada.  This arbitration has been pending for about 2 1/2 years.

Most if not all of the issues raised in this lawsuit are raised in that arbitration. In that arbitration the Government of Grenada is represented by the international law firm of Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer.

Accompanying this declaration is the declaration of one of Freshfields' attorneys, who explains the facts and circumstances surrounding that arbitration and dispute. I am not a party to that arbitration.

(4). In mid-November 2006, someone came to my home (at) St. George's in the morning and delivered to me a copy of the complaint in this case.

I recognized immediately that it concerned the same dispute that was in the arbitration, and I gave the complaint to Hugh Wildman, the legal advisor to our Cabinet. I also let Freshfields know that I had received this complaint.

(5). It is my understanding that our Government immediately filed with the arbitrators a request that they direct RSM to dismiss the lawsuit against me.

One of the reasons for that request is that I am immune from suit in the United States for actions taken in my official capacity.

It was my understanding that RSM agreed not to take any action in the litigation while the arbitrators considered the request.  Therefore, as I understood it the lawsuit was "on hold". I also understood that there were discussions to settle the arbitration.

(6). Based upon all of this, I believed at the time that it was not necessary for me to retain U.S. Attorneys or take steps to answer the lawsuit, until a point at which Freshfields told me that the lawsuit was no longer "on hold".

(7). In mid-February 2007, I was in Japan on official government business for about one week. When I returned, I learned that while I was away RSM had notified Freshfields that RSM was taking steps to activate the lawsuit against me.  I was notified of this the week of February 19.

Given the arrangement that had been put in place before, I was surprised to learn from Freshfields that RSM intended to seek a default judgment against me, and that they would do so at a conference on Friday (February 23) of that very same week.

The Government asked RSM to seek an adjournment of the conference. RSM refused to seek an adjournment. The Government also asked the arbitrators to direct RSM to seek an adjournment. The arbitrators denied this application on February 22, the day before the conference.

(8). I did not receive notice of the conference directly from plaintiffs counsel in this case until the day of the conference.

On Friday, February 23, 2007, I received via FedEX from Daniel Abrams a copy of the Court's order scheduling the conference for that same day.

During the week of February 26, I retained the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to represent me in this case.
On Friday of that same week (March 2) Paul Weiss wrote the Court to identify itself as my counsel and seek an adjournment of the March 16 hearing.

(9). I understand that the arbitrators have not issued a final decision on the Government's request, made in November, that the arbitrators direct RSM to dismiss the lawsuit against me, and they intend to consider that request on March 26.

(10). I have a number of defenses in this case. They include:

(11). Sovereign Immunity. RSM's claims against me in this action arise from the Grenadian Government's decision not to award RSM a license to explore for oil and natural gas resources off the coast of Grenada.

Any and all actions I took with respect to RSM's license application (and including exploration, development, and production of Grenada's offshore resources, and maritime boundary disputes) were performed in my official capacity and pursuant to the execution of my official duties.

(12). As stated above, I am the Deputy Prime Minister of Grenada and the Minister of Agriculture and Energy, specifically, I am Grenada's Minister for Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, Public Utilities, Energy and Marketing and National Importing Board. I have held that position since 2003.

(13). Prior to that I was the Minister of Communications, Works, and Transportation, a post to which I was appointed when I joined the Government in 1995.

At that time, responsibility for Energy (including oil and gas exploration) belonged nominally with the Ministry of Finance, of which I was not a part.

However, in about 1996, the Cabinet asked me to deal with Energy matters including the exploration of Grenada's offshore oil and natural gas resources, and the maritime boundary delimitation negotiations with Venezuela.

I was given this responsibility because of my prior experience as General Manager of Grenada Electricity Services Ltd.

In 1999, responsibility for these matters was officially transferred from the Finance Ministry to my Ministry, and it was transferred again with me when I became Minister for Agriculture and Energy.

(14). Plaintiffs' own allegations in the complaint make clear that my participation in reviewing applications and awarding licenses for offshore oil and gas exploration was in my official government capacity.
For example, plaintiffs allege (iI) that I "rescind(ed) the Special Envoy to Venezuela status of Jack Grynberg that he was using to attempt to resolve boundary disputes between Grenada and Venezuela"

(ii) that I "refused to participate in a case" between Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago to resolve boundaries

(iii) that I permitted "other parties to perform seismic work" in an area plaintiffs say was theirs and

(iv) that I took no steps to preserve Grenada's United Nations seismic data."

Even if true, these acts and all others by me concerning Grenadian oil and gas licenses (including, also, involvement in the arbitration and the resolution of maritime boundary disputes) would have been undertaken in my official capacity and pursuant to the execution of my official duties. I have no personal interest in these matters.

(15). Plaintiffs accusation that I am "attempting to profit" from Grenada's oil and gas development and have demanded bribes is false and irresponsible.

I have never asked Jack Grynberg, RSM Production Corporation, or Grynberg Petroleum Company for a bribe. Nor have I asked for or received a bribe from defendants Lev Korchagin, Len Blavatnik, or Mikahil Fridman.

In fact, in a written proposal on December 14, 2006 to settle both the pending arbitration and withdraw this very lawsuit, Mr. Grynberg offered to also "arrange for a full public apology to Minister Bowen". Such an apology can only refer to the numerous false and responsible accusations he has made about me in the arbitration, this lawsuit and in the press.

(16). Personal Jurisdiction. I do not consent to the jurisdiction of this Court over me in this action. I am a citizen and resident of the sovereign state of Grenada.

Except for a few years during which I lived in Canada or Trinidad to receive an education, I have lived my entire life in Grenada. I do not own or use any real property in New York or anywhere in the United States. I do not own stock in any U.S Corporation. I do not conduct or solicit business in New York.

I note also that he complaint alleges no acts by me in New York. In fact, none of the acts undertaken by me in connection with the Grenadian oil and gas exploration license were undertaken in or have anything to do with New York. Plaintiffs allege no connection themselves to New York.

17. I do not enter New York or the United States more then two to four times a year, on official government business or otherwise. The limited circumstance so of those visits are described below:

18. First, I travel through New York on airport layovers, en route to or form China, Japan or other countries on official government business. During such layovers, I stay one or two nights at a hotel in Manhattan or near JFK airport.  The last time I did this was in connection with my trip to Japan in February 2007. During such layovers, I have visited my wife's family or a physician in Brooklyn, New York. On my most recent layover, returning form japan, I arrived at JFK Airport in the evening, spent one night in a Manhattan hotel, and got on a plane back to grenada the next morning. My totM~•CýPH¿round in the<sted States was about 12 hours.

19. Second, I travel to Washington, DC on official government business for seminars or negotiations at the World Bank. The last such trip was for several days earlier this month.

20. Third, my family and I have taken vacations in the United States. The last one was to Disney World in Florida in 2005. I also attended a wedding in Houston, Texas in September 2006.

21. The complaint alleges that Grenada maintains a consulate in New York City.

This is true of most nations of the world. To the best of my recollection, I have visited our Consulate in new York only once, several years ago. The complait also alleges that I visited New York "for several days" in June 2006. This was a trip during which my wife and I visited her family in Brooklyn and I took the opportunity to visit a physician.


22. Stature of Limitations. To the extent the complaint puts a date on any act I am alleged to have committed, it is 1996 and February to July 2004. Paragraphy 8 alleges a number of undated actions by me. To the extent I engaged in those acts, it was in the years 1996 through and including 2002.