3 weeks ago
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Senior Reporter
Disgraced King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson will have to mount a final appeal to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council if he hopes to overturn his convictions in connection with participation in an alleged legal fee kickback scheme.
Delivering a judgment yesterday, Appellate judges Nolan Bereaux, James Aboud, and Geoffrey Henderson dismissed Nelson’s second appeal over the matter.
Nelson’s appeal was considered by a three-member panel after initially being rejected by Appellate Judge Mark Mohammed last year.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Henderson said Nelson had delayed in bringing the challenge after he pleaded guilty to a string of corruption offences and was sentenced in 2019.
“The court is of the opinion, therefore, that no satisfactory or convincing reasons have been proffered which justify the lengthy delay in this case,” Justice Henderson said. He also noted that Nelson had adequate legal counsel before he agreed to enter into the plea agreement, which was approved by a High Court judge.
“The applicant was represented by Queen’s Counsel and a junior attorney-at-law,” he said.
“From the exchanges at that hearing, the applicant had ample opportunity to bring to the attention of the trial judge the background material that he has placed before us in support of his application,” he added.
The appeal panel granted Nelson an eight-week stay of the judgment to allow him time to consider filing a final appeal.
The stay was also necessary because Nelson has not yet paid the fines imposed after his guilty plea and could face the possibility of serving the default prison terms for the fines if his convictions stand.
In October 2017, Nelson provided a sworn statement in which he claimed that former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, had demanded that he pay him 10 per cent of the legal fees he received for representing the State and State companies during Ramlogan’s tenure between 2010 and 2015. He claimed that attorney Gerald Ramdeen served as the intermediary by allegedly collecting the funds and paying them over to Ramlogan.
Almost a month later, Nelson entered into an indemnity agreement with former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi.
In the document, Al-Rawi, as the legal representative of the Government, agreed that Nelson’s statement would not be released into the public domain, including through parliamentary debate.
While it stated that the statement would be disclosed to the DPP’s Office and the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB), it noted it would not be disclosed to prosecuting, tax enforcement, regulatory, or disciplinary authorities outside of T&T.
It also promised that no civil litigation to recoup the legal fees already paid to him would be taken.
Al-Rawi also agreed to make representations to the DPP’s office for him not to be prosecuted.
The agreement also sought to indemnify Nelson from any litigation over the allegations contained in the statement, which it acknowledged may be challenged for defamation.
It also covered any legal costs Nelson would incur from the prosecution of Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
In 2019, Ramlogan, Ramdeen, and Nelson were charged with conspiring together to receive, conceal, and transfer criminal property, namely the rewards allegedly given to Ramlogan by Nelson for being appointed to represent the State in several cases. They were also accused of conspiring to corruptly give Ramlogan a percentage of the funds and of conspiring to make Ramlogan misbehave in public office by receiving the funds.
Shortly after being charged, Nelson entered into a plea agreement with the DPP’s office in exchange for his testimony against Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
In March 2020, High Court Judge Malcolm Holdip upheld the plea agreement and issued a total of $2.25 million in fines to Nelson for his role in the alleged conspiracy. Under his plea agreement, the conspiracy to commit misbehaviour in public office charge was dropped, and he was fined for the other two offences.
As part of his sentence, Holdip said that Nelson, who had been in protective custody during his visits to Trinidad for the investigation and sentencing, was free to return to the United Kingdom while he cleared the fines under a 10-month court-approved payment plan.
He was also placed on a $250,000 bond to keep the peace for three years. Nelson then sued the State, as he alleged that it breached the indemnity agreement with Al-Rawi under which he initially agreed to implicate Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
He pointed out that his statement implicating Ramlogan and Ramdeen was shared with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which initiated a probe into Nelson before ceding jurisdiction to local law enforcement officials.
The case, which is still pending, has been sealed.
Nelson also filed a separate appeal challenging his conviction based on what transpired with the agreement.
In October 2022, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, was forced to discontinue the corruption case against Ramlogan and Ramdeen due to Nelson’s unwillingness to testify while his lawsuit and appeal are being determined.
“The State is of the view that it would be unfair to leave the case against these defendants in limbo pending the outcome of the civil claim when there is no date for its conclusion,” Gaspard said.
DPP Gaspard stated that the charges may be refiled if Nelson’s position changes.
“The State currently does not have the power to compel Mr Nelson to give evidence in this matter,” he said, as he stated that Nelson cannot be extradited.
The outcome of the appeal was referenced by Al-Rawi while he was addressing a press conference held by the Opposition yesterday morning.
He noted that despite pursuing the legal challenges, Nelson still maintained his allegations.
“He has never recanted his statement in which he admitted he engaged in bribery and he paid bribes to persons, including Mr Anand Ramlogan,” Al-Rawi said.
Nelson was represented by Edward Fitzgerald, KC, Naveen Maraj, and Varun Debideen. The DPP’s office was represented by Ian Benjamin, SC, Tekiyah Jorsling, and Tonya Rowley.
English (US) ·