By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.met
PROSPECTIVE jurors in the Alstom SA/Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) bribery case were instructed to return to the Supreme Court today for the expected start of trial.
The 48-member jury pool was told by Justice Bernard Turner yesterday that there were legal matters to be discussed before the commencement of 79-year-old Freddie Ramsey’s trial on allegations of accepting more than $500,000 in bribes concerning generator purchases for BEC.
The eight Crown witnesses who appeared for the trial were also instructed to return to court on Tuesday morning at 10.30am.
Ramsey is accused of multiple counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery, which he denied committing when formally arraigned in January of this year.
The allegations are related to a widespread scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in bribes to countries around the world. They were brought to light in 2014 in a US Department of Justice report which said that French power company Alstom SA allegedly paid more than $300,000 to a BEC board member to influence contracts to a French company between 1999 and 2003.
Ramsey is on $40,000 bail and is being represented by Wayne Munroe, QC and Tommel Roker.
Garvin Gaskin, acting director of public prosecutions, is prosecuting the case.
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