Inniss arrives for court hearing in New York

Former government minister Donville Inniss has arrived at the Eastern District Federal Court of New York for the start of his money laundering trial.

Inniss, who has maintained his innocence of bribery and money laundering charges brought against him in the United States was accompanied by his lawyer and close friend, former attorney general Adriel Brathwaite, among others.

Inniss has been accused by the United States of accepting bribes from the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) in 2015 and 2016 while he was Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development.

Second from left, Donville Inniss enters court.

The US alleges that ICBL paid him $36,000 to use his authority to ensure that the firm’s million-dollar contract with the state-owned company Barbados Industrial Development Corporation (BIDC) was renewed.

The US Attorney’s Office alleged that he conspired to hide the payment by having the money sent to a New York dental company, then into his bank account through a number of transfers.

Barbados TODAY’s Senior Reporter Randy Bennett is in New York to provide coverage of the case.