Ramlogan, Ramdeen return to court

INDICTMENTS have not yet been filed against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen.

And, a new prosecutor will have to be appointed since the one previously assigned to the case, Mauricia Joseph-Patrick, is no longer with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, having been appointed a Master of the High Court.

Both men appeared virtually before Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle on allegations of conspiring with Jamaican-born Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson for Ramlogan to misbehave in public office as AG, by accepting money from Nelson as reward for giving him state briefs.

It is further alleged that they conspired for Ramdeen to receive, conceal, and transfer criminal property which represented corrupt rewards given to Ramlogan by Nelson for the state briefs.

The third allegation against the two is that they conspired for Nelson to give ten per cent of the paid legal fees to Ramlogan as a “gift” or “reward” for being granted state briefs.

They were charged in May 2019.

Deputy DPP George Busby, who appeared for the prosecution, also admitted indictments had not yet been filed by the director and asked an adjournment. There was no objection by the defence and the matter has been adjourned to June 18.

When the men appeared in December, Joseph-Patrick informed the chief magistrate there will not be a preliminary inquiry as the DPP intends to bypass the lower courts and have the case proceed directly to the High Court.

Joseph-Patrick had also said 21 sworn statements have been filed and two are still outstanding. One of those outstanding statements is from the police officer who charged both men in 2019. She asked for the matter to be adjourned to February to give the Office of the DPP some time to file relevant documents in the high court.

Attorney Russell Warner, who appears with Pamela Elder, SC, for Ramlogan also raised the issue of disclosure, saying they had written the DPP’s department but was yet to receive a response.

In March 2020, Nelson, who pleaded guilty in June 2019 to his part in the alleged kickback scheme, was ordered to pay $2.25 million restitution as part of a plea bargain arrangement struck between him and the State. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to turn state witness and testify against Ramlogan and Ramdeen.