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AG: Extradition papers are here.
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US MOVES ON JACK

The United States government has moved in on corruption-accused Jack Warner.

Attorney General Garvin Nicholas announced at an impromptu news conference yesterday the extradition request for Warner was now in his hands.

Nicholas also assured there will be no political interference in the matter.

Nicholas called a news conference at 6.25 p.m. at the Office of the Attorney General, Cabildo building, Port of Spain, to disclose this information in a brief statement.

“I have this evening received the formal request for the extradition of Mr Warner with the supporting extradition package,” said Nicholas.

“The process is now for me to examine the documentation and consider the evidence and decide whether to issue the authority to process. This is of course a serious and substantial matter and must be given due time and attention,” he added.

Nicholas then answered a number of questions from the media.

Warner, a former FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) vice-president and leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), has charged on numerous occasions that the Government was conspiring to get him out of this country. He has repeatedly said he has no intention of going anywhere without a fight and it will be a “long, hot summer”.

Nicholas said the legal process will be followed.

No political interference

Asked whether he can assure Warner and citizens there is no political interference in the extradition, given that the September 7 general election was just a few weeks away, Nicholas said, “This matter has absolutely nothing to do with politics... this is an extradition request made by the United States government. We've dealt with several extraditions over the last few months.

“This is also a matter that does not only concern Mr Warner, it concerns 14 persons that the Americans had asked to be extradited to the US to face charges. The State has gone about this and certainly the office of the Attorney General and all the players, whether it be the police, etc, has gone about this as professionally as possible following the letter of the law and offering Mr Warner and his team all due courtesies when possible.”

Asked for a time frame on his consideration of the extradition request, Nicholas said, “I will not put a time frame on my consideration time. The document, as you can see from the bundle, is quite significant and therefore requires due consideration.”

Nicholas said the extradition documents were sent from the United States Department of Justice to the US Embassy in Trinidad, which then sent them to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Copies were sent to the Attorney General's office and Central Authority.

“It is important to decide whether there is a case to be answered; and if there is a case to be answered, then the authority to proceed will be granted. And if in the Attorney General's discretion, there is not a case or sufficient evidence to proceed, then that is the discretion that will be exercised,” said Nicholas.

He said once a decision is taken, Warner's legal team will be notified and be given the opportunity to peruse all the evidence and a trial date will be set that is convenient to all sides.

Nicholas said there are no US officials in Trinidad on the case and it is in the hands of this country's authorities to deal with the matter.

Battery of lawyers

Warner is being represented by a battery of attorneys, including Fyard Hosein, SC, Nyree Alphonso, Rishi Dass and Anil Maharaj.

He has also retained British QC, Edward Fitzgerald, to lead his defence.

The State's legal team includes Pamela Elder, SC, attorneys Jagdeo Singh and Gerald Ramdeen, along with Alan Newman, QC, and James Lewis.

Questioned on why no State-employed attorneys were working on the case and instead all these lawyers were retained, Nicholas said: “We sought to get the experts in the field in criminal law, judicial review and extradition, and that was the decision made.”

Asked why attorneys were not sought from the Solicitor General's Department, he said, “The Solicitor General's office at the moment is actually quite stretched and this being such a significant matter that required a lot of time, a lot of attention and certainly action within a relatively short period of time. It was thought the best way to go was this way.”

Ramdeen stays

Questioned on whether any consideration was given to removing attorney Gerald Ramdeen from the State's legal team, given the allegations levelled against him with respect to “Prisongate”, Nicholas said, “No, I'm not.” Pressed why, Nicholas said, “I'm not.”

Nicholas, when asked by the media for proof and to show the first page and date of the document to verify it was indeed the extradition request, said: “No, I don't intend to show the document.”

He said he decided to inform the media of the arrival of the extradition request was to prevent the rumour mill from running and also because of the public interest in the case.

Sunday Express exclusive

The Sunday Express exclusively reported this week that Warner's extradition request would reach this country by Wednesday (yesterday), days before the July 27 deadline specified by the extradition treaty for the final request to be made.

Warner was among 14 football officials and marketing executives arrested in a sweeping US$150 million bribery scheme stretching over nearly a quarter of a century on May 27 in a dramatic US crackdown on global corruption in football.

Warner was charged with eight counts of financial crimes in connection with the FIFA corruption case, according to the US Department of Justice indictment, which was unsealed in the Eastern District Court in New York, USA, in May.

Warner has denied all of the charges made against him and has promised to put up a long legal battle to US prosecutors' bid to extradite him to New York to face charges of money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering.

Warner's sons, Daryll and Daryan Warner, have already pleaded guilty to US corruption charges in exchange for reduced jail time.

RELATED NEWS

Jack’s extradition documents arrive.
By Derek Achong (Guardian).

The Office of the Attorney General has finally received the United States’ formal extradition request for former Fifa executive and current Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner.

Attorney General Garvin Nicholas made the announcement at a press conference at his Cabildo Chambers office, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday evening as he sought to dispel rumours over the arrival of the documents which are required for Warner’s extradition proceedings to commence.

Nicholas said: “The process is now for me to examine the documents and consider the evidence and decide whether to issue the authority to proceed.”

The official start of Warner’s case is dependent on Nicholas’s decision as only when he gives it, the documents on charges the former government minister is facing will be disclosed to his attorneys. His lawyers have already indicated they will need the documents to prepare Warner’s defence in his extradition proceedings.

Asked for a time frame for his decision in light of the fact that Warner is due to reappear before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar for the continuation of his case next Monday, Nicholas said he was in no rush.

“This is of course a serious and substantial matter and must be given due time and attention. I will not put a time frame on my consideration as the documents are very significant and therefore requires due deliberation,” Nicholas said. When asked to respond to Warner’s allegations that his (Nicholas) handling of the extradition was being influenced by politics, Nicholas firmly denied that.

“This matter has absolutely nothing to do with politics. I can say all legal and due process considerations will be taken as we move forward with this matter.

“The Office of the AG and all local players, whether it be the police, have gone about it as professionally as possible to the letter of the law and have offered Mr Warner and his team all due courtesies when possible,” Nicholas said. He also defended his decision to hire a formidable team of private lawyers to represent the US interest in the case instead of relying on internal staff of the Central Authority, which co-ordinates all extradition requests.

The legal team includes British Queen’s Counsel Allan Newman and James Lewis, local Senior Counsel Israel Khan and Pamela Elder and attorneys Jagdeo Singh, Gerald Ramdeen and Alvin Pariagsingh.

“We sought to get the experts in the fields of criminal law, judicial review and extradition. At the moment the Solicitor General’s Office is quite stretched and this being such a significant matter which requires a lot of time and attention and certainly action in a short period of time, it was thought this is the best way to go,” Nicholas said. 

Warner, 72, of Cynthia Drive, Five Rivers, Arouca, is accused of 12 charges related to fraud, racketeering and for engaging in illegal wire transfers. The offences are alleged to have taken place in the United States, T&T and other jurisdictions between 1990 and when Warner quit Fifa in June 2011.

He is one of 14 former executives of world football’s governing body who were indicted on a series of charges after an investigation into corruption in football conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice.

AG: No obligation to alert Warner on extradition papers.
By Anna Ramdass (Express).

I DON’T OWE JACK

Attorney General Garvin Nicholas said yesterday he will not be baited by Jack Warner's antics and stressed he had no obligation whatsoever to inform Warner the United States had sent extradition papers for him.

Nicholas called a news confe­rence on Wednesday to announce the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) had sent an extradition request for corruption-accused Warner and he (Nicholas) will consider the evidence and decide whether to issue the authority to process the extradition.

Nicholas said he decided to inform the media, given the public interest in Warner's matter.

Warner, a former FIFA (Féd­éra- tion Internationale de Football Associ­ation vice-president and leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), is facing a number of charges by the US government, such as fraud, money laundering, racketeer­ing and other financial crimes, relating to his tenure at FIFA.

Warner was among 14 football officials and market­ing executives arrested on May 27, in a sweeping US$150 million bribery scheme stretching over nearly a quarter of a century, in a dramatic US crackdown on global corruption in football.

I won't engage with Warner

On Wednesday, the day the extradition papers came into the hands of the AG, Warner, at an ILP meeting in Diego Martin, claimed Nicholas owes him over $100,000 and he (Nicholas) should have had the courtesy to at least inform him the extradition papers were here.

Nicholas told the Express yesterday he has no intention of engaging in a political battle with Warner.

“Jack Warner first claimed that he gave me $15,000 for my 2002 election campaign 13 years ago, to which I chose not to comment as I have stated that I will not engage with Mr Warner. Last night (Wednesday), he increased his claim to $115,000, no doubt, in an attempt to provoke a reaction.

“I however will not be baited. At this time, with so much going on nationally, regionally and internationally, I need to stay focused on the issues that affect the nationals of Trinidad and Tobago. This is not a time to be distracted by political platform rhetoric,” said Nicholas.

“Additionally, I had absolutely no obligation to inform Mr Warner of the arrival of the formal request,” said Nicholas.

The extradition procedure

He said further, the Attor­ney Gen­eral's involvement in this matter is mandated by legal obligation and not political considerations as some may wish to state.

“If I decide not to proceed, then that's technically the end of the matter, if I decide to issue the authority to proceed, then that commences the matter. That is the procedure,” said Nicholas.

He pointed out he has presided over five extradition matters since he was appointed Attorney General in February this year by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and never once has he engaged with any of the accused.

Nicholas said the court process is technically a preliminary enquiry to determine whether Warner has a case to answer in the United States.

On May 27, the DOJ issued a provisional warrant of arrest for Warner. He has appeared before the courts on two occasions and is due to reappear next Monday.

After he spent a night in jail because of a problem in securing his $2.5 million bail, Warner vowed to expose Persad-Bissessar and her Government.

Since then, he has alleged Ni­cholas, Government Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal and Persad-Bissessar herself, as well as the United National Congress (UNC), were beneficiaries of his money.

The Prime Minister has refuted Warner's claims, saying she has ne­ver received any money from him.

ILP still in election race

Warner, the former member of Parliament for Chaguanas West, has said it will be a 15-year wait to determine this extradition matter. Despite his legal battles and, now, extradition hanging over his head, Warner and the ILP say they remain focused on contesting the September 7 general election and will continue fielding candidates.

Warner has not yet disclosed which seat he intends to fight, but sources say his eyes were on the heated Chaguanas East constituen­cy which was held by Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz.

ILP deputy leader Rekha Ramjit said Warner can contest the election, even as he faces extradition to the U.S.