Appeal Court blocks Vincent Nelson’s bid to take case to Privy Council

Vincent Nelson KC - FILE PHOTO

CONVICTED King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson must now persuade the London-based Privy Council to allow him to challenge his 2019 corruption conviction after the local Court of Appeal rejected his latest bid to get leave to appeal.

Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, James Aboud and Ricky Rahim, on December 19, refused Nelson’s application for conditional leave to approach the Privy Council, agreeing with the state that the matter was procedural and raised no issue to warrant a challenge before TT's apex court.

Bereaux, delivering the oral ruling, said the Director of Public Prosecution’s decision to prosecute did not breach Nelson’s constitutional rights and that due process safeguards were fully observed during the plea agreement process.

He added that Nelson’s application was not a final appeal against his conviction and sentence but merely a request for permission to pursue one. Newsday understands Nelson intends to apply for special leave at the Privy Council.

The ruling follows a July decision in which Bereaux, Aboud and Justice of Appeal Geoffrey Henderson found that Nelson failed to establish misconduct by the DPP and had waited too long to file his appeal.

Henderson, delivering that decision, said Nelson, a UK-based tax attorney, voluntarily entered a plea agreement in 2019 and had ample opportunity to disclose any alleged promises or threats to the trial judge at the time.

Nelson was represented by senior counsel during the proceedings and raised no concerns about improper inducements, Henderson noted.

Nelson pleaded guilty in June 2019 to conspiracy to commit corruption and money laundering arising from a legal-fee kickback scheme. He was fined $2.25 million in March 2020 after agreeing to testify against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen.

Those prosecutions were discontinued in 2022 after Nelson refused to testify until a $95 million civil claim tied to an alleged indemnity agreement was resolved. That claim has since been dismissed by the High Court, and Nelson has appealed the ruling of Justice Jacqueline Wilson.

In his application for permission to appeal, Nelson argued that former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi promised him immunity, a pardon and payment of legal fees, and that he provided a self-incriminating statement believing he was protected.

Henderson said Nelson failed to support those claims with sworn evidence from the attorney who allegedly conveyed the promises, and that the record showed Nelson acted voluntarily throughout the plea process.

On the issue of delay, the court found Nelson’s October 2023 appeal was filed more than four years after his conviction and more than three years after sentencing.

Henderson rejected explanations offered by Nelson, including illness and an expectation of a pardon, describing them as insufficient to justify the delay.

Nelson’s appeal notice was filed five years after the 14-day deadline. His attorneys, led by Edward Fitzgerald, KC, argued the delay resulted from alleged state misconduct surrounding the plea agreement.

Justice of Appeal Mark Mohammed dismissed an earlier application, last year, prompting Nelson’s renewed bid before the three-judge panel.

Fitzgerald told the court Nelson acted as a confidential informant and only provided a self-incriminating statement after assurances of immunity, a pardon and payment of outstanding fees.

“Why would he put his head in a noose unless he believed he was protected,” Fitzgerald asked, noting Nelson received £1 million ($8.99 million) days after giving the statement.

He said Nelson was “tricked,” adding: “It may have been a false promise...an overreach, but we say that a promise was made.”

The DPP’s lead attorney, Ian Benjamin, SC, countered that Nelson was a seasoned barrister who knowingly entered the plea agreement and delayed challenging it for strategic reasons.

“He wanted leverage, a ‘strong bargaining position,’” Benjamin said, describing Nelson’s affidavit as contradictory and self-serving.

Benjamin also maintained that prosecutorial authority rests solely with the DPP and that pardons may only be granted by the Mercy Committee, not the attorney general. Nelson has not yet paid the $2.25 million fine imposed by the court.

He was also represented by attorneys Naveen Maraj and Varun Debideen. Tekiyah Jorsling and Tonya Rowley appeared for the DPP.