CL Financial Ltd

CL Financial Limited was one of the largest privately-held conglomerates in the Caribbean. Founded and led by Lawrence Duprey, the group expanded aggressively from its origins in the insurance sector (through its subsidiary Colonial Life Insurance Company, or CLICO) into a diversified holding company with major assets in financial services, methanol production, real estate, and manufacturing across the Caribbean and globally. The company's rapid, highly-leveraged growth proved unsustainable, and a severe liquidity crisis, exacerbated by the 2008 global financial crisis, led to its collapse in January 2009. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago initiated a massive bailout to prevent systemic economic failure, taking control of the company's assets. The subsequent years have involved a complex and lengthy process of asset liquidation, creditor repayments, and a formal Commission of Enquiry to investigate the causes of the collapse.