Black Immigrant Daily News
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Former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi. –
FORMER attorney general Faris Al-Rawi stands accused of “pressurising” convicted lawyer Vincent Nelson, KC, into entering an agreement with the State to provide evidence of legal-fees kickback corruption for Al-Rawi’s’s personal benefit and political aspirations, as well as those of the Government.
The accusation was one of Nelson’s complaints as he alleges that because of a breach of the indemnity agreement, he is entitled to compensation.
Nelson, 64, is suing the State for over $96 million for loss of earnings (after being expelled from prestigious UK firm, 39 Essex Street Chambers); loss of insurance benefits; the $2.5 million fine he was ordered to pay when he pleaded guilty; and additional sums if the UK’s National Criminal Agency and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Service, make demands of him, for alleged unpaid taxes.
In June 2019, Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit an act of corruption. He was put on bond for three years, and as part of the deal, agreed to testify against former UNC attorney general Anand Ramlogan and ex-UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen.
In March 2020, Nelson was spared jail time as part of a plea deal with the DPP.
Nelson has alleged misfeasance in public office and sets out what he views as these deceptions.
He maintains being induced into giving the statement against Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
He contends representations made by Al-Rawi that the State would not institute criminal proceedings against him, were false.
He alleged the AG was a public officer who “intentionally committed” acts which led to the breach of the purported indemnity agreement.
He alleged that people in Government acted maliciously, dishonestly and in bad faith, with ulterior motives, knowing they were in excess of their constitutional remit and that all of this caused him to suffer losses.
Nelson said for “self-advancing, malicious and/or spiteful political purposes, allegedly for the benefit of the ruling party,” of which Al-Raw is a member, these acts of misfeasance were perpetrated at his expense.
Al-Rawi denied these accusations on August 25, when responding to questions from police.
On October 10, DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, discontinued the case against Ramlogan and Ramdeen because of Nelson’s unwillingness to testify until a civil claim he has against Government, is determined by the court.
Nelson says there was never an agreement, up to his plea bargain discussions with the DPP in April 2019, for him to give evidence at any trial of anyone he named in his statement.
He said the indemnity agreement’s objective was to protect and prevent his name from being made public and him from being implicated in any offence.
Nelson said the State cannot now “approbate and reprobate” and was “irrevocably bound” by the terms of the agreement.
“A man having eaten his cake does not still have it even though he professed to eat it without prejudice,” was an analogy used by Nelson, who maintains the AG cannot “blow hot and cold having elected to admit liability.”
Nelson says the State can validly enter into contracts with whistleblowers, informers or co-offenders to ensure their participation in the fight against crime, but cannot avoid or resile from the consequences of its undertakings.
He said if the State wanted to preclude a whistleblower from claiming loss of income, this should have been set out in any agreement.
For his part, he says the agreement with him was part of the Government’s “much-repeated policy of encouraging and providing protection to whistleblowers.”
He maintained that the integrity of the judicial system demands that the State adhere to its contractual undertakings to whistleblowers, informers and/or co-offenders, since failure to do so would undermine whistleblowers’ collaboration with police investigations.
Nelson’s claim was sealed by Justice Jacqueline Wilson on February 9, pursuant to an application by attorney Keisha Kydd-Hannibal.
It was ordered that Nelson’s claim form and statement of case be sealed and stored from public access and not be made public record. All documents in the matter were also sealed.
However, on Friday, Nelson’s new attorney, Shankar Bidaisee, applied to have the case unsealed.
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