Tobago Oil Spill: WPA member slapped with $5M lawsuit by Queensway Group CEO

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Queensway Group Inc., Mohamed Arafat Qualander has filed a $5 million lawsuit against social media commentator and member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Kickadie Amsterdam.

Qualander has accused Amsterdam of libel and is seeking in excess of $5 million in damages; aggravated and/or exemplary damages; an injunction restraining Amsterdam, his servants, agents, or otherwise from further publishing or causing to be published the said or similar words which are defamatory to the CEO.

Amsterdam, in a live broadcast on the Kams TV Facebook page on February 21, alleged that Qualander owned the vessel that was involved in the oil spill off the coast of Tobago. He also accused Qualander of having political ties.

The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Sanjeev Datadin and Khalif Gobin, on Monday, is also seeking an order from the High Court directing the defendant to remove all social media posts which contains “the false and defamatory words or similar words which convey either expressly or infer the same meaning from his Facebook page”

Qualander is further seeking another order directing Amsterdam to retract and apologise to him for “making false and defamatory statements.”

“The claimant (Qualander) is a distinguished businessman engaged principally in the security sector. He is the principal of a leading Security Company in Guyana providing services to the public and private sector and also to individuals.

“He is involved in the importation and sale of firearms and ammunition and constantly subjected to stringent compliance and regulatory checks both locally and overseas. “The false accusation as made by the defendant (Amsterdam) would adversely affect his standing and ability to engage in his chosen trade.

“The claimant is a father and husband who has never been charged with any criminal offence or for being engaged in any illegal activity,” the attorney argued in their claim to the High Court.

Qualander recently told the News Room that the Queensway Group Inc. is heavily scrutinised and such statements have been causing substantial damage to his public image and that of his company.