Court of Appeal expected to hear submissions as Tasker continues to resist extradition

Oral submissions in the extradition case involving former senior insurance executive Alex Tasker, who is wanted in the United States for money laundering conspiracy,  are expected to be heard by a three-member panel of Court of Appeal judges on June 10.

And Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham, who is set to hear the appeal along with Justice Rajendra Narine and Justice Francis Belle, has made it clear that he wants to have the matter “out of the system with some alacrity”.

Wednesday’s adjournment came after it was revealed that the record of appeal which the Chief Justice described as “a very critical document which the Court of Appeal should have had”, only came into the possession of the court that morning.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale and Senior Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas who are representing the United States in the matter, and Tasker’s attorneys Andrew Pilgrim Q.C., Neville Reid and Lani Daisley did not yet have the document when the case was called.

In September last year, Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes ordered that Tasker, a former Insurance Corporation of Barbados Ltd (ICBL) executive linked to the cash-for-coverage scandal, be turned over to US authorities to stand trial.

However, the extradition was stayed, with Tasker remaining on bail while his lawyers appealed the magistrate’s decision.

US federal authorities want the businessman to be tried for his alleged role in a money laundering scheme that led to the conviction, in the United States, of former government minister Donville Inniss for pocketing bribes in exchange for awarding government insurance contracts to ICBL.

Prosecutors allege that between August 2015 and April 2016, Tasker conspired with others to launder money in the US from outside the country.