Rowley: Dillon case is private matter

PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley was unfazed by the sealing of records by a United States law court that on Wednesday cleared National Security Minister Edmund Dillon of any wrongdoing in a property dispute amid initial allegations of fraud, saying it was "a private and personal matter."

Dillon's interest in a Manhattan apartment and a bank account belonging to lifelong friend Neville Piper, 88, originally of La Brea was challenged in a civil suit by Piper's niece.

At yesterday's post-Cabinet media briefing, Newsday asked if the confidentiality provision deprived Dillon of fully clearing his name.

Rowley replied, "That's not a matter for me and this Government.

"What I do know is that allegations were made against him, that he was involved in fraud and other unsavoury matters, and I have now been told that in a court of law that has been found not to be true." Rowley said how the US court conducts its business was not a matter for him. "It was ventilated in a court of law under the jurisdiction of another country. It's a private and personal matter and I don't know what else you want me to say."