Bail judgment for Ish and Steve today

 High Court Judge Andre Mon Desir is expected to decide today whether an application for bail brought by businessmen Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh will be heard. Lawyers for the applicants will have to cross the threshold and prove the circumstances had changed since the two were last refused bail by a High Court judge. Bail applications were refused by Justices Malcolm Holdip and Vasheist Kokaram.

The law requires proof of a change in circumstances before the applicants can again go before a judge in chambers for bail. Submissions on the point were made by lawyers for the prisoners. Avery Sinanan, SC, responded for the office of the Attorney General. Mon Desir, sitting in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court, will rule on the preliminary point before deciding to hear the application. Sinanan leads Kelvin Ramkissoon, Karel Douglas, Sunita Harrikissoon and Grace Jankie for the AG, while Andrew Mitchell, QC, and Rajiv Persad appear for Galbaransingh. Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein, Nyree Alfonso, Sasha Bridgemohansingh and Rishi Dass, represent Ferguson.

On May 4, 2006, a Florida state grand jury returned an indictment against Steve Ferguson, Ishwar Galbaransingh and several others.  They were indicted on charges relating to corrupt practices in relation to CP 9 and CP 13 construction packages in the Piarco Airport development project. Galbaransingh and Ferguson are charged with bid-rigging, wire fraud, conspiracy to engage in money laundering and money laundering in the building of the $1.6 billion Piarco Airport terminal building.