LATT to make its indemnity deal position known on Friday

CHASTISED for its “deafening silence” on the collapse of the prosecution of former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, and ex-UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen, the executive council of the Law Association (LATT) was locked in discussions on the issue up to late on Thursday night.

LATT’s council met in session from 4 pm and just after 8 pm, president of the association, Sophia Chote, SC, told Newsday the council had met for several hours of discussions and was in the process of preparing a release.

She said the release will be available on Friday.

The association came under heavy fire this week for not speaking out on the collapse of the case even though several other groups of attorneys and senior attorneys have publicly expressed their outrage over the affair.

LATT’s meeting came ten days after Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, made the shocking announcement that the State could not proceed with the case against Ramlogan and Ramdeen because its main witness, convicted King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson, was refusing to testify, for now.

In announcing the decision to discontinue the corruption case, on October 10, Gaspard said Nelson was not willing to give evidence in that matter until his civil claim for an alleged breach of an indemnity agreement with Government for his testimony came to an end.

Nelson, 64, is now suing the State for over $96 million for: loss of earnings after being expelled from a prestigious UK firm; loss of insurance benefits; the $2.5 million fine he was ordered to pay when he pleaded guilty; and additional sums if the UK authorities make demands on him for alleged unpaid taxes.

He claims the Government reneged on the conditions of the indemnity agreement. His claim was filed in January, and is expected to come up for hearing in December, although he has since asked the court to unseal it, since he said he never gave instructions to his former attorneys to have it sealed.

In a statement on Wednesday signed by CBA president Israel Khan, SC, the association criticised  LATT for its “decided refusal” to act in accordance with its mandate under section 5 of the Legal Profession Act and its responsibility to citizens.

The CBA called on the council to issue a comprehensive statement to “help shape the national discourse on this important issue.”