Inniss found guilty
Former Barbados Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss was yesterday found guilty on money laundering charges, in a United States Federal Court.
Inniss, a United States legal permanent resident who resided between Tampa, Florida and Barbados, was charged in an indictment with one count of conspiracy to launder money and two counts of money laundering, involving US$36 000.
The jury in the New York court handed down a guilty verdict on all three counts yesterday, for the former Minister who served in the Democratic Labour Party administration. The unanimous verdict was delivered by a 12-member mixed jury. The trial started on Monday in the United States Eastern District Court in Brooklyn, New York, before District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.
Inniss was accused of leveraging his office as a Minister of Commerce and Industry, to help the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Ltd. (ICBL) secure insurance contracts. According to the United States Department of Justice, the case was filed on March 2018 in the Eastern District of New York. Inniss was however arrested by US authorities on Friday August 3, 2018 and had his initial appearance in court on Monday August 6, 2018.
“Donville Inniss allegedly used the U.S. financial system to launder bribes he received while serving as a government official in Barbados. These charges demonstrate the commitment of the Department and our law enforcement partners, to hold accountable anyone who seeks to use our financial system to promote or launder the corrupt proceeds of their crimes,” Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said at the time.
“As charged in the indictment, Inniss abused his position of trust as a government official, by taking bribes from a Barbadian company, then laundered the illicit funds through a bank and a dental company located in the Eastern District of New York. The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable corrupt government officials here or abroad who use the US financial system to facilitate their criminal conduct,” US Attorney Donoghue also noted then.
According to The US Department of Justice, the indictment alleges that in 2015 and 2016, Inniss took part in a scheme to launder into the United States approximately $36 000 in bribes that he received from high-level executives of a Barbadian insurance company. At the time, Inniss was a member of the Parliament of Barbados and a Minister.
In exchange for the bribes, Inniss leveraged his position as the Minister of Industry to enable the Barbadian insurance company to obtain two government contracts. To conceal the bribes, it was alleged that Inniss arranged to receive them through a U.S. bank account in the name of a dental company, which had an address in Elmont, New York.
Inniss will remain on bail, pending sentencing in February. His attorney Anthony Ricco has outlined plans to appeal the present outcome.