Housing Minister Adrian Leonce says he is exploring his legal options following a social media post in which an Opposition politician speculated about his involvement in illegal activity.

In a statement, he insisted the claim was “completely without foundation” and outright denied involvement in any illegal activity, either directly or indirectly.

However, the Minister has admitted to once having a business agreement with an individual who was under investigation.

Mr Leonce says two years after returning to Trinidad from the UK where he completed his MSc in Engineering, he was asked to enter active politics, serving as MP for Laventille/Morvant.

He adds that 10 years later, he decided to leave active politics and re-establish the Engineering and Construction business that he had started in 2005.

His statement says:

“My plan was to establish operations that would generate foreign currency earnings from the wider Caribbean and the UK, a country with which I was familiar and had familial connections… I reached out to a friend in London who put me in touch with a Trinidadian gentleman who, he said, had business in the UK and would be able to register a company on my behalf. I had met the gentleman twice before through the same friend socially; I reached out to him, and he agreed to assist. Registering the business, I was told, I required a UK address, and the gentleman offered to use his, which meant that he would also necessarily have had to be listed as a director.”

Mr Leonce said he did not see a problem, since they were merely registering a company, adding “this is a normal type of transaction”.

He said the company was registered in September 2023, however in July 2024, he was informed that the person jointly listed as a director, was the subject of an investigation.

Mr Leonce insisted that this was “unbeknownst” to him, and so, he made a decision to immediately terminate the company and sever all connections.

He ends the statement by insisting, “I have no affiliation with the individual other than this and know nothing of his business dealings or other activities.”