Former Education Minister and Senator Ruel Reid to stand trial for fraud. (Photo: JIS)
Chief Parish Judge Chester Crooks has ruled that the fraud case involving former Education Minister Ruel Reid and his co-accused is properly before the court and should proceed to trial in due course.
As a result of Crooks’ ruling in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court today, the matter was set for case management on July 27.
Hugh Wildman had previously argued before Crooks that the case against ex-Senator Reid and Fritz Pinnock, president of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), should be thrown out.
Wildman’s ground for the application was that his clients were arrested by officers of the Financial Investigations Division (FID), which, he argued, has no jurisdiction to do.
Professor Trevor Munroe
Jamaica has shown marginal improvement in the area of corruption, according to its latest ranking by corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI).
The country has registered a score of 44 out of 100 on the just released Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This ranks Jamaica 69
th of 180 countries that were assessed in 2020 and represents a marginal improvement for Jamaica which scored 43 out of 100 in 2019 while ranked at 74.
Based on TI’s ranking, a score of zero means a country is perceived to be very corrupt while 100 means a country is perceived to be very clean. The 2020 results show that Jamaica is perceived to be the fifth most corrupt state in the Caribbean behind Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic and Haiti. With a ranking of 28, Barbados is perceived to be the least corrupt Caribbean state.
REID
Hugh Wildman, the attorney representing former Education Minister Ruel Reid, Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) President Fritz Pinnock and their co-accused, told the court yesterday that his clients should walk out the courtroom with their freedom intact.
Reid, his wife Sharen, their daughter Sharelle, Pinnock and Brown’s Town Division Councillor Kim Brown Lawrence are facing corruption charges. The five accused were charged in connection with a major fraud and corruption probe by the Financial Investigations Division (FID) involving transactions at the CMU.
They will know on February 4, 2021, if they have a case to answer.
Yesterday, the decision was expected from Chief Parish Judge Chester Crooks. However, additional submissions were heard from the defence and prosecution.
Judge to rule on Ruel Reid, Fritz Pinnock matter in February jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.