Crime & Punishment

Knowing full and well that the enterprise they were engaging in was a criminal one and one which required much maneuvering and deceit to succeed, Ishwar Galbaransingh, Steve Ferguson and others knowingly conspired to defraud the State of Trinidad & Tobago by scheme and trick, and deceive the people's trust for personal enrichment through corrupt means.

The operative word here is knowingly; They ought to have known better. Their education, position, wealth and access indicated that they already knew better.

The amount of effort that was deployed to cover their tracks and evade detection and prosecution is testimony not only to the creativity and determination of the conspirators, but an admission of knowledge of wrong doing before the fact.
If nothing else, that act of deceit needs punishing as deterrent to others bent on corrupt self enrichment at the expense of the people of this country more than anything else they are guilty of.

Their guilt or innocence is no longer a subjective matter for us as their co-conspirators have already come forth, spilled the beans on the conspiracy, and are presently serving time in jail.
The discussion is no longer as to guilt or innocence, the substantive issue is what to do with them now if this is not to make a mockery of our legal system, become a political football and embarrass us internationally.

Extradition of these two UNC financiers to another jurisdiction with equal claim in the matter seems the logical way out of this thorny issue for this Government and the current UNC should not be seen as an impediment to justice, nor should they stand in the way of the enforcement of punishment against criminals.
I do not think the Issue of the extradition should be decided by a UNC Government Minister if Justice is to be seen to be done, and Mr. Ramlogan needs to rid himself of this matter urgently.
There are many, many others who got rich off this rotten endeavor, and the ONLY deal the state should be prepared to entertain with Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson is a reduced sentence for complete disclosure that ends in convictions for all parties involved.

If Kamla Persad Bissessar wants to retain her integrity she would do well to step back and let the law take its course regardless of personal friendships she is rumored to have.
Any act to pervert or prevent or in any way ameliorate the inevitability of said course will make her Government complicit in the affair, if not legally, then at least in the minds of the people, and that is a silly legacy to choose for one with so much opportunity still before her.

For this Government to have any moral authority over those that would break laws, they must be seen to be a Government that would enforce law; equitably and fairly; across the board and to the fullest extent of the law.

These men had every opportunity the law affords and their lawyers are now making a mockery of a legal system that is still trying to have human compassion while being bureaucratically efficient.
The result of these abuses will redound to a tightening of the screws on others whose guilt or innocence might still deserve a shadow of a doubt.

This is not something that requires much thinking.

Extradite them now.