Government officials yesterday confirmed that the Hindu Credit Union has been served with an injunction and all the assets which the financial group owns have been frozen.

Justice Nolan Bereaux yesterday granted an application to appoint R Rampersad and Company as a provisional liquidator for HCU's assets. This decision comes three years after credit union members started clamouring to get millions of their saved dollars back from the Chaguanas-based credit union.

While some may see this as a death sentence for the company, HCU lawyer Odai Ramischand told the Express yesterday that HCU president Harry Harnarine was pleased with the judgment and depositors had nothing to fear as the group had between $700 million and $800 million in assets and their liabilities only totalled $200 million.

He said the company had requested that a provisional liquidator be appointed to ensure that HCU's debts be paid off.

At a press conference at the Red House yesterday, Labour Minister Rennie Dumas said the ruling was backed by the company's board members and this backing helped expedite the process of coming to the conclusion to appoint a liquidator.

Though Ramischand listed several properties which the HCU owned including plots of land, housing settlements, two radio stations, a medical centre, a bank and a security firm, he did not mention which assets will be sold to cover the debt.

Information Minister Neil Parsanlal said the liquidation company is now waiting for the ministry-appointed auditors Ernst and Young to fully access the value of all the company's assets before the sale of any of the properties is arranged.

Ramischand said one of the main priorities once liquidation begins would be the repayment of a $4 million mortgage debt to the Intercommercial Bank.

He also said that debts from the court hearing and deposit repayments to members of the union were among the top priorities in the repayment scheme, though he said the board along with the liquidator would have to finalise the list of priorities.

The company has already made some payments.

Harnarine told the Sunday Express recently that the credit union had paid out $420 million to frustrated depositors who initially could not access their money.

Ramischand said the credit union has at least 160,000 members now.

Though he admitted about 40,000 members have left the institution within the last few years he believes the court's decision to freeze the companies assets and ensure debt repayment will safeguard the survival of the business.

Finance Minister Karen Nunez Tesheira said she felt she could not comment on the future of the HCU at present because any comments could be seen as "premature."