NASSAU| Fearing public backlash, the Minnis Administration denied an application by former BEC board member Fred Ramsey to erase a bribery conviction from his criminal record.
In 2016, a jury found Ramsey guilty of 12 counts of bribery and two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Ramsey was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Alstom Power SA by providing officials with information from board meetings or using his connections to influence the decision.
Ramsey, a staunch FNM supporter, saw the party’s 2017 election victory as a chance to expunge his criminal record but then-Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis decided that helping Ramsey was not worth the controversy as his government had pursued criminal charges against three former PLP politicians in 2017.
Ramsey submitted an application to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee in 2019 but it was denied in 2020. Ramsey was 79 when he stood trial. He did not receive a custodial sentence.
The bribery allegations surfaced when Alstom was fined $775 million after admitting to participating in a global scheme to pay officials to ensure they were awarded contracts. Alstom admitted to securing its contracts with BEC in this manner.
