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| Former PM Basdeo Panday leaves court |
Panday was initially convicted of the offence but the Privy council overturned the decision and stated that a retrial should be held.
The lead defence attorney, David Aaronberg QC, focused on the testimony of former Snr Supt Wellington Virgil who laid the charges against Panday.
Aaronberg noted that Wellington admitted that during his investigations, he never found evidence of any expenditure being incurred on the account by Panday for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Aaronberg noted that Wellington admitted that during his investigations, he never found evidence of any expenditure being incurred on the account by Panday for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
He stated further that Virgil had testified that Panday told hik the account was in his wife's name but he didn't "see it as necessary" to question Oma Panday, the beneficial owner of the account.
The lawyer also noted that Virgil testified that he did not see it as important "to report to the Assistant Commissioner that Mr Panday did not carry out any transaction on the account."
Prosecutor Sir Timothy Cassell QC told the court the charges were based on the evidence of witnesses at the Integrity Commission and at the National Westminster Bank at Wimbledon Hill Road, London, England.
Cassell said Panday deliberately tried to evade local authorities by writing a letter to the bank on April 12, 2002, requesting that his name be removed from the joint account between him and his wife.
"It was a last-ditch effort because he knew that the authorities were onto him. Even with regard to the timing, he wrote the letter at the same time when the DPP was in the process of giving directions to Mr Virgil (to lay the charges)," Cassell said.
Cassell said in 1997 the account had a balance of £11,814. That went up to £37,033 and in 1999 and further increased to £110,752. During that period Panday earned $180,000 a year as prime minister, he said.
"This increase obviously could not have come from Mr Panday's pocket. It had to come from somewhere else," Cassell said.
Prosecutor Sir Timothy Cassell QC told the court the charges were based on the evidence of witnesses at the Integrity Commission and at the National Westminster Bank at Wimbledon Hill Road, London, England.
Cassell said Panday deliberately tried to evade local authorities by writing a letter to the bank on April 12, 2002, requesting that his name be removed from the joint account between him and his wife.
"It was a last-ditch effort because he knew that the authorities were onto him. Even with regard to the timing, he wrote the letter at the same time when the DPP was in the process of giving directions to Mr Virgil (to lay the charges)," Cassell said.
Cassell said in 1997 the account had a balance of £11,814. That went up to £37,033 and in 1999 and further increased to £110,752. During that period Panday earned $180,000 a year as prime minister, he said.
"This increase obviously could not have come from Mr Panday's pocket. It had to come from somewhere else," Cassell said.
Panday's lawyer responded that his client had been a practising attorney for several years and that there was no evidence to indicate that the money did not come from his practice as a lawyer nor could it be proven that the finances was not given to Oma Panday by other parties apart from Basdeo Panday.
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