A high-stakes corporate dispute has emerged at state-owned telecommunications giant Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), as former acting chief executive officer Keino Cox is moving forward with planned legal action against the company. Cox alleges the TSTT board retaliated against him after he flagged widespread potential corporate governance violations by top company officials.
Cox’s legal team, led by prominent Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and operating out of the RLM & Co law firm, delivered a formal pre-action protocol letter to TSTT on Friday. The correspondence sets a strict seven-day deadline for the telecom provider to deliver a substantive response to the claims, failing which Cox will initiate formal litigation in the appropriate court.
According to the legal documents, Cox held the post of acting CEO for 12 months starting July 21, 2025, via two consecutive six-month appointments. His legal team emphasizes that his tenure delivered exceptional financial results for the company: profit after tax surged 103% to $214 million, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) jumped by $135 million to reach $910 million, and the company restored $35 million in positive retained earnings. Beyond financial performance, the letter highlights the successful expansion of the company’s community outreach programs, including the popular Future Leaders Internship Programme that provides opportunities for young local workers.
Shortly after Cox raised his concerns over internal governance, the board placed him on immediate administrative leave and declined to renew his acting CEO appointment. The legal team firmly rejects the unstated insinuation that Cox’s removal was connected to any improper conduct related to TSTT’s Humming Bird call-centre contract. The letter clarifies that the procurement process for that contract followed all required protocols: the opportunity was publicly advertised, evaluations were conducted by an independent third-party committee, and the final contract was formally approved by TSTT’s own Procurement and Disposal Advisory Committee.
Instead, Cox’s attorneys directly tie his removal to the governance concerns he brought forward to the board, specifically focusing on a proposed $470 million bond refinancing plan and the conduct of three top TSTT leaders: chairman Kern Dass, corporate secretary Viveka Pargass, and acting chief financial officer Robert Panker.
The legal correspondence outlines that TSTT’s independent financial advisor, Ernst & Young, explicitly recommended against pursuing the refinancing in July and August, projecting that delaying the transaction until October would cut between $7 million and $8 million in unnecessary redemption fees. Despite this formal professional advice, a board memorandum was circulated advancing the July refinancing timeline, and Cox raised formal objections to the flawed process during a full board meeting.
Beyond the refinancing dispute, Cox also flagged a series of concerns regarding corporate secretary Pargass, including allegations that she failed to properly disclose outside secondary employment that creates a potential conflict of interest, caused costly delays in securing TSTT’s mandatory Money Lender’s Licence, and authorized new hires outside the company’s official hiring protocols.
The letter accuses the TSTT board of choosing to retaliate against the whistleblower rather than launching a full independent investigation into the serious governance concerns he reported. It formally notifies Dass, all sitting directors, and Pargass that Cox intends to refer all evidence of potential misconduct in public office to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) or other relevant regulatory bodies if his claims are not resolved appropriately.
Cox’s legal team also adds that unnamed TSTT officials have made damaging public statements that falsely tie Cox to misconduct in the Humming Bird contract matter, irreparably harming his professional reputation. In addition to a formal response to his claims, the legal team is demanding full disclosure of the exact reasons for the non-renewal of Cox’s appointment, complete details of any formal allegations against him, and all supporting documentation that TSTT relied on to make its decision to remove him.
Notably, even amid the ongoing dispute, Cox has indicated he remains open to returning to his role as acting CEO, provided that appropriate safeguards are put in place to prevent further retaliation and the company compensates him for the financial losses and reputational damage he has sustained to date.