The bulk of the $7 million additional funds requested from Cabinet by the Attorney General was to pay outstanding legal fees owed to UK solicitor Charles Russell, LLP, for services dating as far back as 2003. This was disclosed yesterday by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan during a media briefing at his office at St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. Ramlogan said the Ministry of the Attorney General sought additional funding in the sum of $7,254,838.
The sum owed, Ramlogan said, amounted to $5,689,616.81. He said $63,179.22 was the only sum incurred under his tenure. “Cabinet was advised that Charles Russell has made numerous requests to the Ministry of the Attorney General for payment of outstanding bills going back to the year 2003 amounting to $5,754,838,” he added. In relation to the costs associated with the three-member investigative team which examined the death of baby Simeon Cottle at the Mount Hope Women’s Hospital on March 1, Ramlogan said, a total of $835,299.48 was paid, well within the $1.5 million budgeted.