[UPDATED] Nelson pleads guilty to conspiracy

JAMAICAN-born British Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson has officially pleaded guilty to his role in an alleged conspiracy with former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen in connection with a series of financial transactions and alleged rewards involving legal fees paid to him for representation in state briefs, which he obtained while Ramlogan was attorney general.

Nelson, who was indicted on three counts of conspiring to commit money laundering, misbehaviour in public office and conspiracy to commit an act of corruption, returned to the Port of Spain High Court on Thursday, where he is before Justice Malcolm Holdip.

At Thursday’s two-hour long hearing, Holdip accepted the plea agreement deal struck between Nelson and the State and in accordance with section 26 of the Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Act, and Nelson formally entered his guilty plea.
The Jamaican-born attorney will now be sentenced on January 16.

Newsday understands the reason for the long adjournment date for sentencing was because the judge wanted to see how the two related matters would progress as well as Nelson's obligations under the plea agreement.

In accordance with the provisions of the recently-proclaimed Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Act, certain steps are to take place before the judge signs off on the agreement.

This includes the disclosure by the prosecution the substance of and reasons for the agreement and before accepting it, the judge has to ensure an accused was not induced to enter the agreement and knows of the consequences of it.

The judge also has to ensure that the agreement is justifiable. Although under the plea agreement, under which Nelson has agreed to turn State witness and testify against Ramlogan and Ramdeen, the judge will also have to sign off on the terms of sentence agreed to.
The media were again excluded from Thursday’s hearing. On Tuesday, when Nelson appeared in court, concerns of adverse pre-trial publicity, unfairness to his two alleged co-accused and his own genuine fear to his personal security “because of the highly politically charged case,” were raised by his attorney and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC.

When Nelson first appeared in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court on May 2, Gaspard informed Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle he was invoking the recently-proclaimed Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Act to have the matter transferred to the High Court for a plea agreement trial.

He also said Nelson had voluntarily agreed to the terms of the agreement and wanted to plead guilty to the charges against him.

That same week, the formal charging documents were filed in the High Court, which included Nelson’s plea agreement with the prosecution and his witness statement.

Nelson lives in the UK, and was granted permission to leave the country and return for the hearing of his case. He is on $100,000 cash bail, which was not varied by Holdip. He is represented by British QC Tom Allen and local attorney Roger Kawalsingh.

Days after Nelson was charged, Ramlogan and Ramdeen were also charged with conspiracy to contravene the Prevention of Corruption Act; conspiracy to engage in money laundering; and conspiracy to misbehave in public office, on various dates between October 1, 2010 to September 9, 2015.

When they made their first appearance in the magistrates’ court, Ramlogan’s attorney, Pamela Elder, SC, asked for disclosure and a quick start to the case in light of information that Nelson was ailing. According to his attorneys, he is in remission for prostate cancer but regularly needed access to his doctors in the US and the UK to treat with his health concerns.

Elder said her team hoped he would get the best medical care and does not “enter the hearafter” before they got an opportunity to cross examine him.

Ramlogan and Ramdeen are to reappear in court on June 28.

This story was originally published with the title "Vincent Nelson pleads guilty" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

JAMAICAN-born British Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson has officially pleaded guilty to his role in an alleged conspiracy with former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen in connection with a series of financial transactions and alleged rewards involving legal fees paid to him for representation in state briefs, which he obtained while Ramlogan was attorney general.

Nelson, who was indicted on three counts of three counts of conspiring to commit money laundering, misbehaviour in public office and conspiracy to commit an act of corruption, returned to the Port of Spain High Court this afternoon, where he is before Justice Malcolm Holdip.

At today's hearing, Holdip accepted the plea agreement deal struck between Nelson and the State and in accordance with section 26 of the Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Act, he formally entered his guilty plea.

The Jamaican-born attorney will now be sentenced on January 16.