Judge’s End of Year Deadline Overturned in $2 Million BPL Fraud Case

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Court of Appeal has overturned a judge’s end of year deadline for the conclusion of the trial of a former banker accused defrauding Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) of almost $2 million.

In Febraury, Justice Carla Card-Stubbs warned prosecutors that the trial against Reno Bethel would be permanently stayed if the matter wasn’t concluded by December 30.

But the appellate court set aside her order, giving the prosecution time to complete the matter.

The Appeal Court will give reasons for its decision at a later date.

Bethel, through his lawyer Ryszard Humes, had filed a constitutional motion, alleging that his right to a trial within a reasonable time had been breached after the matter remained in limbo since 2020.

Bethel and others were charged in 2017 after prosecutors alleged that they were part of a ring that received payment for fake bills sent to BPL. The trial began in 2018, and the magistrate hearing the matter resigned in 2020.