Panday hid money in British bank, prosecutor tells court
March 21, 2006
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - Former Trinidadian Prime Minister Basdeo Panday hid hundreds of thousands of dollars in a British bank account, a prosecutor said yesterday in the start of a criminal trial for the prominent opposition leader.
Panday, who was prime minister from 1995 to 2001, violated Trinidadian law when he failed to disclose a Natwest bank account jointly held with his wife, Oma, that at one point held nearly US$200,000 (euro160,000), prosecutor Timothy Cassel said in his opening statement.
The former prime minister was charged in September 2002 with three counts of knowingly making false statements to Trinidad's Integrity Commission by not declaring the account in financial statements from 1997 to 1999.
Panday has pleaded not guilty, saying in court documents that the account was for his wife and his children's education.
Cassel told the judge hearing the case in Trinidad's capital, Port-of-Spain, that the large fluctuations in the amount of money in the account cast doubt on Panday's explanation.
If convicted, the 72-year-old Panday faces up to six years in prison and a fine of as much as US$60,000 (euro50,000), and could be barred from running for Parliament again....
Author: AP
Source: Jamaica Observer
