FORMER prime minister Basdeo Panday, his wife Oma, former minister Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh have failed in their bid to stop their decades-old preliminary inquiry into bribery charges arising out of the Piarco airport expansion project from restarting.

They had resisted any attempt by the prosecution to have the matter further adjourned.

On Friday, Magistrate Adia Mohammed refused an application by the four to stay the matter because of abuse. The four had resisted the prosecution’s application for an adjournment, pushing for their discharge and objecting to any further delay.

In July, the State, represented by deputy DPP George Busby sought an adjournment to get further instructions from DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, on how to proceed with the Piarco III preliminary inquiry, after Mohammed said she received authorisation to start the case afresh.

[caption id="attachment_973294" align="alignnone" width="911"] DPP Roger Gaspard -[/caption]

The matter has been called periodically in the Port of Spain magistrates’ court since it landed in Mohammed’s docket in 2019 after she was assigned to the first court, which primarily hears fraud cases.

It now comes up for hearing on September 22 for case management.

The Pandays were charged with corruptly receiving money while John and Galbaransingh were charged with corruptly giving £25,000 to the couple.

John and Galbaransingh were accused of giving Panday the money as an inducement or reward in relation to the Piarco airport expansion project.

The Pandays and the others were charged in 2005.

A preliminary inquiry began before former senior magistrate Ejenny Espinet on May 31, 2006, and on February 12, 2008, the defendants asked that she recuse herself after they said they received information that Espinet was a trustee and treasurer of the Morris Marshall Development Foundation and thus, would be biased against them because of her alleged close connections with the People's National Movement (PNM).

[caption id="attachment_973291" align="alignnone" width="928"] Former prime minister Basdeo Panday -[/caption]

Legal challenges on the basis of apparent bias were dismissed and the case continued before Espinet until she retired in 2018, leaving it part-heard.

In their application resisting its restart, John and Galbaransingh argued the prosecution had four years – after an appeal in the matter was discontinued to consider its options; that it was grossly unfair and egregiously wrong to have the decades-old matter remain before the court and the cost to the justice system to have it continued.

They argued the continuation of the prosecution after 17 years would amount to oppression and the proceedings ought to be stayed as an abuse of the process of the court having regard to the inexcusable and inordinate delay by the State.

It was further argued that nothing prevented the chief magistrate from ordering that the matter restart soon after Espinet retire