Delay in Andrew Bennett Extradition Case
Attorney Andrew Bennett, accused by U.S. authorities of money laundering in Puerto Rico, was due back in court for the continuation of his extradition hearing. A D.E.A. agent alleges that he had face to face and telephone conversations with Bennett which forms the basis for the extradition request based on prior information that high level bankers and political figures in Belize were creating money laundering businesses for drug trafficking organizations through three banks operating in Belize. After accepting that the extradition documents provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were legitimate, Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer was to have heard submissions from Bennett’s attorney and responses from the Solicitor General. But there is a delay in disclosure and so more time is needed for the defense to lay any objections to the legitimacy of the documents, as Nigel Hawke explains.
Nigel Hawke, Solicitor General
“We made some commitments in terms of disclosure. What we did do was disclose a copy of the document. I think we hit a little snag in that there is the original document that the other side requested that we are supposed to supply to them. I think we should receive those documents between today and tomorrow, and so we are hopeful that we can have that sent to them, so we can then move forward with the process of them indicating their objections they may have. So the other side, with our agreement, we did request a short adjournment, so that we can have those documents in, so that each side would have an opportunity to properly respond to the court, based on the objections that they have.”
Reporter
“Are you able to indicate if at this time you expect objections from the defendant?”
Nigel Hawke
“We anticipate objections; I think they made it clear they will have some objections. But we don’t know what those objections are.”
No specific date has been set for Bennett to re-appear in court but as Hawke notes, the time will be short.