RETIRED judge Stanley John has delivered his team’s interim report on circumstances surrounding the State's failure to defend a malicious-prosecution claim by nine men accused of kidnapping and murdering businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman.

The claim saw the former accused receiving a $20 million court-awarded compensation almost two months ago.

A statement from the Office of the Attorney General said John and retired ACP Pamela Schullera-Hinds had delivered the interim report to Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC.

The release, which included a photograph of the investigative team, Armour and the ministry’s permanent secretary Natasha Barrow, said the AG thanked the two for their “thorough work and the expeditious delivery of their interim report within the mandated timeframe.”

It also reported Armour as saying he will consider it carefully and “looks forward to the equally expeditious delivery by the investigative team of the full and final report with recommendations in respect of their further terms of reference.”

The interim report addresses the first three of the nine terms of reference, the statement said.

On January 30, Master Martha Alexander awarded the men $2 million each in an assessment of their malicious prosecution claim, which went undefended by the State.

Two days after the court’s award, Armour told a news conference the first time his office had heard of the malicious prosecution claim was when the decision was given.

He said the file had gone missing.

John and Schulera-Hinds were hired to probe the disappearance of the file and identify what went wrong in the Office of the AG that led to the State's failing to defend the claim.

On February 7, in a bizarre development, John said the file had been found and handed over to the acting solicitor general.

He gave no details on where the file was found or by whom.

The team’s terms of reference were to look into the facts and circumstances from the time the men’s claim was served on the State in June 2022, a month after it was filed; the court’s decision; and the handing-over of the file on February 6.

They also considered the roles of the relevant office-holders in the State’s civil law department to determine if there was any dereliction of duty, violation of laws, conflict of interest or breach of trust.

In a brief statement at 6 pm on Monday, the Office of the Attorney General said the State had filed an application on the advice of retired judge Rolston Nelson, SC.

The release said the application is to set aside both the default judgment and the award of damages against the State in favour of the nine.

“Attorney General (Reginald) Armour SC awaits the fixing of the date for the hearing of this application and remains consistent in his commitment to ensuring that the public continues to be updated on the progress of this matter,” the release said.

The lead attorney for the nine men in the malicious-prosecution case, Anand Ramlogan, SC, had asked for a copy of John’s report at the end of the investigation in exc