Lennox Andrews
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Finance
Carenage
St. George's
January 16, 2007

Dear Permanent Secretary,

Re: US$2.5 Million (EC$6.75 million) paid by Lev Model to the Government of Grenada; Under agreement dated September 28, 2005.

I am a Grenadian. I am helping to pay your salary. As such, I am entitled to make reasonable enquiries concerning the conduct of the affairs of my country.

Lennox Andrews

You are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ministry of Finance. You are charged with the care and management of all public moneys and the supervision and guidance of all persons concerned therewith.

You are responsible, also, for the recording, examination, inspection and verification of all receipts and expenditure of public money and the keeping of all necessary books and accounts.

Your duties and responsibilities, in the office of Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, are clearly set out in the Constitution and in the Finance and Audit Act Cap 102 of the Revised Laws of Grenada, 1990 and in the Financial Regulations made thereunder.

In the discharge of those duties you are responsible to the Law of the Land, the constitution and, ultimately, to us; The People. I am, therefore, seeking information from you, as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, as to the where about of the sum of US$2.5 million (EC$6.75 million) allegedly paid to the Government of Grenada by one Lev Model on behalf of a company, Global Petroleum Group.

The money is stated to have been paid under an agreement made September 28, 2005 to grant exploration and exploitation rights to oil and gas resources in our offshore waters. I find it necessary to make this enquiry of you, in protection of public interest, because of the failure of the Hon. Minister with responsibility for Energy, Gregory Bowen, to answer questions relevant to the payment and receipt of that money and to come clean by making frank and open disclosures of his relationship with named Russian operatives.

Embattled Min. Gregory Bowen

I am sure you understand that failure to respond to this letter will fan existing public belief and conjecture that this huge sum of money changed hands but failed to reach the Treasury of the people of Grenada.

Again, the handling of public funds is never a state secret. And, therefore, there should be no reason, whatsoever, for any reluctance on your part to provide the public with this information. The questions directed to Minister Bowen were contained in my letter to him dated December 12, 2006, a copy of which is enclosed, for ease of reference.

Those questions stem from negative responses to questions which he was asked by Mr. George Worme, Editor of Grenada Today newspaper, at a media conference convened by Minister Bowen in November, 2006.

By his responses, the minister gave the impression that there was no such agreement and no payment of monies to the Treasury.
The questions were:-

Worme: Is there any agreement between the Government of Grenada and Russian people concerning oil and gas?

Bowen: To explore for oil and gas?

Worme: yes

Bowen: There is no agreement between the Government of Grenada and the Russian people sued with me.

Worme: Any agreement between Government and any Russian people, any people whatsoever?

Bowen: I don't know of any such agreement to explore for oil and gas.

Worme: So, can we safely say that no Russian group has paid any money into the Treasury?

Bowen: There is no exploration agreement with Russian group.

In my letter of December 12, 2006, the minister was asked:-

Jack Grynsberg

(1). Is there, or has there ever been, an agreement, dated 28th September, 2005, between the Government of Grenada and Global Petroleum Group, represented by either of these two Russian men, dealing, in any way, with the granting of exploration and exploitation rights to the oil and gas in Grenada's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)?

(2). Did Lev Model, on behalf of himself, or Edward Vasiliev, or Global Petroleum Group, pay the sum of Two point Five Million United States Dollars (US$2.5m) to Government of Grenada, or to you as Minister of Energy, or to anyone else, to your knowledge, under the terms of that contract or otherwise?

(3). If such a sum were paid, where is it?

The minister has failed or refused to respond to my questions. You will see from copies of two letters, enclosed herewith, written by Lev Model, a Russian national, to the Hon. Minister Gregory Bowen on 17 and 18 October, 2005 that, contrary to the answers given by the minister to George Worme, there is evidence that an agreement was made on 28 September, 2005 between Government of Grenada and Global Petroleum Group and that the sum of US$2.5 million was paid to Government.

Evidence of the registration in Grenada by Russian nationals, including the said Lev Model, of the company Global Petroleum Group Inc. was published in Grenada Today newspaper on Friday, January 12, 2007.

It is a strange and disturbing fact that, in the presence of such telling evidence, the Minister remains silent, having disclaimed knowledge of this agreement and the payment of such a large sum of money. Furthermore, I have examined the estimates for revenue and expenditure of the government for the years 2005 and 2006 and have seen no evidence of such an entry.

In the darkness of Minister Bowen's silence, I am forced to ask that you shine a light by enquiring of you whether this sum of money was paid into the Treasury of the Government of Grenada and to ask you to direct me to where I can find evidence of such payment.

I am copying this letter, with a covering letter, to the Accountant General and the Director of Audit, two officers under obligations imposed by Law and the Constitution.

Yours truly,

Reynold C. Benjamin

C Hon. Dr. Keith Claudius Mitchell, Prime Minister
C Hon. Anthony Boatswain, Minister for finance
C Hon. Tillman Thomas, Leader of her Majesty's Opposition
C Ms Patricia Antoine, Accountant General, Ministry of Finance
C Mr. Anslem Joseph, Director of Audit, Ministry of Finance
C His Grace Bishop Vincent Darius
C President, Grenada Conference of Seventh day Adventists
C Grenada Conference of Churches
C Grenada Trade Union Council
C Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce