Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall was today (Thursday, April 27, 2017) charged for fraudulently acquiring and converting to his own use, Commonwealth Law Reports belonging to the State.
The Reports were acquired by Nandlall during his term in office. He previously stated that he commenced subscribing to Lexis Nexis (U.K.), publishers of the Commonwealth Law Reports sometime in 2003, and the arrangement is that the Reports are shipped to him along with an invoice. He noted that before his appointment as Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, he requested that as a condition of his service, the state stands this expenditure and this was done. The items were taken with him when his party demitted office in May 2015. This, he said was communicated to the relevant authorities.
However, he was called in for questioning at the S.O.C.U. headquarters on Monday (April 24, 2017) in relation to the reports.
On Tuesday (April 25, 2017), Nandlall then filed an application in the High Court seeking an interim conservatory order preventing officers or agents of the State from seizing the fourteen Law Reports.
He was today (Thursday, April 27, 2017) arrested at his office and subsequently charged and granted self-bail by Magistrate Fabayo Azore. He will return to Court May 8, 2017.
According to the Peoples’ Progressive Party, Nandlall is still being held by S.O.C.U.
The PPP condemned the arrest of its member noting that “the prolongation of this inconsequential issue totally unrelated to the mandate of S.O.C.U. demonstrates once again the repressive and vindictive nature of the APNU+AFC coalition government.”
