The Caribbean Court of Justice has cleared the way for former executive of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados (ICBL) Alex Tasker to be extradited to the United States to face money laundering and conspiracy to launder money charges.
This country’s highest court of appeal rejected Tasker’s application for special leave to challenge the September 2021 order of Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes that he be surrendered to the US authorities.
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The CCJ panel of justices ruled that Tasker’s application for special leave to appeal the magistrate’s court decision did not meet the necessary requirements and so it was dismissed.
Attorneys-at-law Douglas L Mendes, SC with Andrew Pilgrim, KC and Clay Hackett represented Tasker, while Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale and Senior State Counsel Oliver JM Thomas were the prosecutors.
In the judgement, the court which comprised Justice Adrian Saunders, President, and Justices Jacob Wit and Winston Anderson advised that: “Yesterday, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) refused to grant permission to Alex Tasker from Barbados to appeal an order that he be extradited to the United States of America finding that the local Court of Appeal was right to dismiss his application for leave to appeal.
“When examining the provisions of the Magistrate’s Courts Act and the Extradition Act, the Bench opined that the process to appeal an order of committal was explicit in the latter Act, since it was the specific legislation dedicated to the management of extradition proceedings and it contained a specific procedure for appeal in such proceedings.
“Additionally, the argument that the Court of Appeal had the power to enlarge the time for filing the application for leave to appeal under the Extradition Act was problematic, given that the Act contained no explicit provision for extending the time limits for filing such an application.
