By Latrishka Thomas
The high-profile case where three people are accused of committing fraud against the Customs & Excise Division has been pushed back for another month.
Early in August, Customs officer Joesine Christian and brokers Rowan Matthew and Foston George were jointly charged with conspiracy to defraud in relation to a 2017 incident in which Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s signature was reportedly forged.
Christian is also charged with cheating the public revenue and corruption in public office.
The two brokers are facing additional charges of obtaining money by false pretences and making a false declaration.
The crime in which the three accused reportedly gained a large sum of money is alleged to have taken place in November 2017 at the Deep Water Harbour.
The investigation into this incident began about two years ago after PM Browne informed the authorities that his signature had been forged.
It wasn’t until July of this year that law enforcement apparently had a breakthrough and charged the trio.
The committal hearing was due to have taken place already but the case file was not complete on the few occasions that the defendants appeared in the St John’s Magistrate’s Court.
Yesterday, a prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) informed the court that the file is still being reviewed by DPP Anthony Armstrong.
As a result, a new date of November 7 was issued for the committal hearing.