In a three-page letter, Leon’s Saint Lucia-based lawyers threatened legal action if the Bank refused to negotiate an “amicable separation” by May 4th, 2024.

Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, reacting to Leon’s resignation, describes the outcome as sad and says a review of the Bank’s managerial processes should be done.

“It’s sad, very sad. Gene Leon is a global economist. To me, [the allegations were] very vague, but the Bank gave three people the authority to send the president home. They didn’t inform the government when they did that, they did it on their own,” Prime Minister Pierre said.

Pierre says the treatment received by Leon seems to be a well-crafted cover-up to oust him.

“When the Vice Chairman of the Bank wrote to the Chairman of the Bank, he asked him to speak to American lawyers. So it looked like this thing was well put together to deal with the President,” he said.

The Prime Minister says while he maintains his respect for the Caribbean Development Bank, he says the Bank’s management needs to prioritise borrowing member states.

“The CDB is an institution that I respect, it’s a longstanding institution. But in terms of governance, the power of non-borrowing members as it relates to borrowing members is something that has to be reconsidered. It is something that has caused me personally a lot of grief because I think Gene Leon has a vision,” he said.

The allegations brought against Leon are unknown to the public. The CDB sent him on administrative leave in January 2024 as it launched investigations and he was supposed to return on April 14th, 2024.

However, upon his return, his devices and company badge were not returned to him.