PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad –Attorney General Reginald Armour says he will be seeking the advice of “eminent local and foreign senior and King’s Counsel” following the collapse of the corruption case against the former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former opposition legislator and attorney, Gerald Ramdeen, on Monday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Roger Gaspard, SC, told the Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle Caddle that the State’s main witness, Jamaican-born British King’s Counsel, Vincent Nelson, had indicated that while he is willing to give evidence, he was not ready to do so until a civil-claim case against the State is concluded.
“Mr. Nelson informs me through his London attorneys that while indicating his willingness to give evidence in this matter, he has categorically stated he is not willing to do so until the conclusion of a related civil claim case he has against the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago,” the DPP said.
In that matter, Nelson is seeking damages for breach of indemnity between himself and former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi. Nelson alleges the indemnity was promised to him.
Gaspard said it would be unfair to have the duo “in limbo” while Nelson is pursuing his litigation, adding that the charges may be reinstated once completed.
The Chief Magistrate then discharged the duo.
In a statement issued Monday night, Armour said that revealed details of the civil claim filed by Nelson are arguing that the State should indemnify him for the TT$2.25 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) fine ordered by the High Court when he was sentenced in March 2020.
Armour said the discontinuance of the criminal charges “has understandably come as a stunning development and surprise” and that it was also surprising because Nelson entered into a plea agreement with the DPP to give evidence against Ramlogan and Ramdeen “in exchange for a recommendation by the director to the High Court that Nelson is given a non-custodial sentence.
“As Attorney General, I wish to assure the people of this country that I will consider every available avenue to protect the public’s interests, including (but not limited to) civil proceedings to recover any possible proceeds of the crimes allegedly committed by Messrs Ramlogan and Ramdeen and disciplinary proceedings before the disciplinary committee of the legal profession,” he said.
Armour said that having obtained a fuller account of the DPP’s decision to discontinue the criminal proceedings, “I will be taking the advice of eminent local and foreign senior and King’s Counsel to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of justice for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
In 2019, Ramdeen and Ramlogan were charged with conspiring with Nelson for Ramlogan to misbehave in public office as attorney general by accepting money from Nelson as a reward for giving him state briefs.
The State had also alleged that the men conspired for Ramdeen to receive, conceal, and transfer criminal property, which represented the corrupt rewards Nelson gave him for the state briefs.
The third allegation against the two was that they conspired for Nelson to give 10 ten percent of the legal fees to Ramlogan as a “gift” or “reward” for being granted state briefs.
In March 2020, Nelson, who pleaded guilty in June 2019 to his part in the alleged kickback scheme, was ordered to pay TT$2.25 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) in restitution as part of a plea-bargain arrangement with the State. As part of the deal, he agreed to turn state witness and testify against Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
Under his plea agreement, the conspiracy to commit misbehavior in public office charge was dropped against Nelson, and the judge, Justice Malcolm Holdip, said that Nelson was free to return to the United Kingdom. At the same time, he cleared the fines under a 10-month court-approved payment plan.
He was also placed on a TT$250,000 bond to keep the peace for three years.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her United National Congress (UNC) welcomed the discontinuance of the corruption kickback charges against Ramlogan, who served in her 2010-15 government, and Ramdeen, an ex-UNC senator.
She said the party viewed the matter as “the tip of the iceberg” of corruption by the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) and “conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.”
The UNC leader said she will be “relentless in our pursuit of the truth so that justice can be done.”
The UNC has called for Nelson’s civil claim to be made public, adding, “was the indemnity agreement a clever disguise or illicit vehicle for the payment of monies to induce Nelson to fabricate evidence against Ramlogan and Ramdeen?
It also questioned why the former attorney general, Faris Al-Rawi entered “into a secret indemnity agreement with Nelson without the knowledge, participation, and consent of the DPP?” and whether Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley or the Cabinet” approve the terms of this scandalous indemnity agreement?”
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