Confiscated Cash Was Campaign-Related, Says Gardiner’s Attorney

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UNITED STATES – Gardiner was among 11 survivors of an Election Day plane crash.

A day after the incident, he was detained by U.S. authorities in connection with an international drug trafficking scheme and was allegedly carrying $30,000 with a politician’s name written on it.

In a 22-page document filed in a U.S. court yesterday, Gardiner’s lawyer, Susy Ribero-Ayala, maintained that some of the cash he was found with was “campaign related.”

Ribero-Ayala wrote that the defense expects the evidence to show that only approximately $5,000 of the recovered currency was associated with the envelope bearing the politician’s name.

She also wrote that approximately $20,000 of the recovered currency had been withdrawn from Gardiner’s business bank account on May 11, a day before the general election.

Gardiner’s American attorney also submitted in the court documents that The Bahamas, quote, “does not maintain a comprehensive campaign-finance regulatory structure comparable to that found in the United States.” End quote.

Ribero-Ayala said, quote, “Election-law authorities and election-monitoring organizations have noted the absence of statutory regulation governing political-electoral financing and campaign funding disclosures.” End quote.

As a result, she said the existence of Bahamian currency associated with political activity on Election Day is susceptible to explanations wholly unrelated to narcotics trafficking.