19, July 2002, at 7:06 p.m. News broke today that the Basdeo Panday's file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). Mr. Panday failed to disclose monies in his "wife's" account and for that there are penalties. Yes Mr. Panday, that is what you may call a 'plot' to arrest you but you should know by now that in legal terms it is referred to as a WARRANT. The UNC leader Basdeo Panday and his wife Oma is reported to have aTT $10 million (£100,000.00) London bank account. When the Sunday Express first reported the Integrity Commission’s investigation of Mr Panday’s failure to disclose a London bank account Mr Panday’s first reaction was to deny the accuracy of the figure. He subsequently offered the explanation that the account belonged to his wife, an unemployed housewife, and expressed ignorance of its contents.

The former prime minister, by his own admission, then requested more time from the Integrity Commission following its request for information on the matter, and eventually responded similarly, stating that the account belonged to his wife and offering no information on its balances.

Then this happened...............Mr Panday was arrested at his Port of Spain office after meeting with a delegation of Indian parliamentarians led by lower house Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Seventy-two-year-old Mr Panday appeared in court along with his wife Oma, charged with receiving £25,000 from businessman Ishwar Galbarsingh and Carlos John in December 1998. Reporter in Trinidad Tony Fraser said the former Prime Minister refused bail and was remanded to the State Prison in Port of Spain. Fraser said as Mr Panday left the court, he told reporters "didn't I tell you so".

This was in reference to a recent political meeting where the UNC leader told crowds that he would be arrested by police. Mr Panday, who once led the country's powerful sugar workers trade union, said at the political meeting that he would "fight the struggle from jail". Alleged corruption involving the construction of the new Piarco International Airport has dogged the opposition United National Congress party, which was in power at the time the airport opened in 2000. My information is that the police officers gave Mr Panday every opportunity to surrender, that he refused that opportunity and he chose ultimately despite the offer which was made to him (for) bail to decline that offer for reasons best known to him.The investigations which led to the latest arrests were started in 1998 by Panday's former attorney general, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj left who was unceremonioulsy thrown out of Panday's party before the UNC lost general elections. Now revenge is a dish best served cold! Don't you think?
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