An ongoing investigation into alleged bid-rigging and contract collusion within Trinidad and Tobago’s suspended $3.4 billion national housing program has taken an unexpected turn, after an intermediary claiming to represent a senior Housing Development Corporation (HDC) official under scrutiny offered a cash compensation bribe to the *Sunday Express* in exchange for scrapping the investigative story.
The meeting took place last Thursday on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook, with the intermediary — a well-connected figure with deep ties to local political circles — laying out a clear quid pro quo for the newsroom’s investigative team. If the outlet agreed to kill the story about the alleged collusion, the journalist behind the investigation would receive financial compensation, plus access to a cache of internal documents detailing claims of mismanagement that occurred at HDC during the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration.
“Bringing this kind of negative light on the HDC at this time is not what they want,” the 6-foot-tall intermediary told *Sunday Express* reporters. When pressed for clarification on the offer, he repeated the terms: dropping all coverage of the collusion allegations would result in the payout, plus additional documented scoops on other HDC controversies.
The *Sunday Express* immediately rejected the bribe offer, noting that the contract awarding process under investigation is a matter of significant public interest, given the multi-billion-dollar scale of the housing program and the public funds allocated to it.
The attempt at hush money came after the newspaper had spent the preceding week reaching out to the implicated HDC official and the two private contractors awarded the contested contracts, in response to formal complaints of collusion filed by whistleblowers. The intermediary first contacted the newsroom on Wednesday morning, the day before the in-person meeting, claiming the official was open to negotiating a discussion about the contract controversy. Since the bribe offer was made, the story has moved forward with new developments from the contractors involved.
Within 24 hours of the meeting, Chaguanas-based attorney Denelle S Singh submitted a pre-action protocol letter to the *Sunday Express* on behalf of one contractor and his firm. The letter denied all collusion allegations and threatened immediate legal action if the contractor’s name is published in any upcoming coverage.
The second contractor, who secured one of the multi-million-dollar HDC contracts under investigation, initially spoke briefly with the *Sunday Express* last Tuesday, before submitting a detailed formal response via WhatsApp late Friday evening. In his statement, the contractor emphasized that his company is barred from disclosing confidential client arrangements, commercial terms, or project-specific details unless required by law or explicitly authorized by involved parties.
He firmly denied that his company has ever engaged in collusion with any HDC official related to housing projects in Freeport or any other location across the country, adding that all of the firm’s construction work has always been carried out in strict compliance with legal contractual and commercial standards. When asked directly about any personal or improper business relationship between his firm and the implicated HDC official, the contractor brushed the question aside, noting that like all construction firms operating in the country, his company interacts with dozens of industry stakeholders and public officials as part of routine commercial activity.
“[Company name] has provided construction, renovation, and related contracting services for numerous commercial entities over time,” he said in response to questions about whether the firm had ever done work for businesses owned by the HDC official. “As a matter of company policy, we generally do not publicly disclose confidential client relationships, commercial arrangements, or project-specific details unless legally required to do so or authorised by the relevant parties. Any services provided by the company, where applicable, would have constituted legitimate commercial construction services performed at arm’s length and in the ordinary course of business.”
The contractor “firmly and unequivocally” rejected all allegations, suggestions, or implications of collusion, noting that the company maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy toward bribery, corruption, and all forms of unethical business conduct. When asked about his relationship with the other contractor awarded a contested multi-million-dollar HDC contract, he repeated his policy of not disclosing confidential commercial arrangements, adding that the company has always acted properly, professionally, and in full compliance with the law throughout the entire contracting process for the HDC project.
“We complied with the applicable procurement, tendering, and submission requirements as communicated by the relevant authorities,” he said. “We remain confident that our experience, technical capability, operational capacity, and performance record qualified us to participate in and be considered for such opportunities.”
The $3.4 billion national housing program at the center of the allegations has already been suspended by authorities, and the bribery attempt has intensified questions about transparency and accountability in public infrastructure contracting across Trinidad and Tobago. The *Sunday Express* has confirmed it will continue its investigation into the collusion allegations, despite the bribe attempt and pending legal threat.
