PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

The Appeal Court yesterday quashed a conviction against former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday who was last year found guilty of failing to declare a foreign bank account to the Integrity Commission.

The court set aside the April 2006 conviction and said it would rule later on whether to order a retrial in the high-profile case.

Found guilty

Panday was found guilty on charges of failing to declare a bank account he and his wife, Oma, held at the Natwest Bank in London for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls had imposed three two-year jail terms to run concurrently on the three charges, but Panday appealed the conviction and was released from jail on TT$300,000 (US$50,000) bail.

English Queen's Counsel Richard Clayton, along with Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, S.C., represented Panday in the appeal, while British Q.C. Sir Timothy Cassel and senior state attorney Wayne Rajbansee represented the State.

The appeal was heard before Justices Margot Warner, Ivor Archie, and Paula Mae Weekes.