WATCH: Bail hearing for suspects in INSPORTS fraud racket reschedule to next week
The bail hearing for the five accused in the $222-million fraud racket at the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) was further postponed until next Wednesday after it was announced that a representative from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was not available.
The five suspects, who were present in the Kingston & St Andrew Parish Court in Half-Way Tree on Friday, have been remanded.
Defense attorney Seymour Stewart was expected to present the bail applications to the court and was livid when he was informed of the reason for the delay.
“They (defendants) were charged criminally, have been locked up and the DPP was not prepared to come to defend or to prosecute the matter because it is not convenient for them. And then it is obvious they were not ready because the file is not here and the lawyer is not here – yet the defendants are here, their lawyers are here, the judge is here, the investigators are here but the DPP sends a message that it’s not convenient for them because the file is complex, it’s large and the lawyer dealing with it is not available,” Stewart argued.
“That’s a travesty of justice. In my view, this amounts to the DPP trying to take over the functions of the judiciary. They were not ready, it’s obvious,” he further alleged.
Seymour is the lead attorney in the fraud case against popular “Chug IT” and “French Connection” party promoter Andrew Wright and co-conspirators Rudolph Barnes and Oneil Hope, who were arrested and charged on Wednesday in connection with the fraud racket that reportedly took place between 2011 and 2017.
READ: Party promoter implicated in $222-million INSPORTS fraud
The fraud case also includes defendants Jonnique Mills and Andrea Picton who were arrested on Thursday and have both been charged with conspiracy to defraud. Mills is facing an additional charge of forgery.
READ: Two more persons arrested in INSPORTS fraud
The suspected fraud and other irregularities were reportedly detected by INSPORTS in 2017 during an examination of their financial records. The matter was then reported to MOCA, triggering an investigation.
