The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net  

NEARLY three months after the revelation that a French energy company paid more than $300,000 to a Bahamian government official to secure a BEC contract over a decade ago, the identity of the person that allegedly accepted the bribe remains a mystery.

When asked yesterday if there were any new developments in the matter, Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson said: “No, there is not.”

Her comment came after a former attorney general, who asked to remain anonymous, told this newspaper three months ago that under agreements between the US and the Bahamas, it should not take long for Bahamian officials to obtain information connected with the matter.

In addressing the matter, however, Mrs Maynard Gibson has said officials will provide the public with updates “within the appropriate time.”

She has added that public comments about the matter could harm the government’s efforts to pursue it in the future.

“We want to be thorough about the process,” she said. “I would ask the public to be patient and also to judge this administration, not just the political administration, but the administration that is operating the Attorney General’s Office at this time on its record.”

The bribery claims were unearthed in a $722m plea agreement between Alstom and the United States Justice Department on the matter.

In December, Tribune Business revealed that French energy company Alstom (formerly ABB) paid more than $300,000 to a government official to secure the purchase of a slow diesel generator for the electricity company nearly 15 years ago.

Earlier this month, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) called on the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to investigate the matter.

DNA Leader Branville McCartney accused the government of being content to “overlook criminal activity when it occurs in the upper echelons of our society.”