Each of the five special prosecutors hired by government has been paid a $2 million retainer fee, which is to be applied against his fees, costs incurred or expenses paid on the behalf of the state and $20,000 per hour for legal services, Attorney General Basil Williams SC has revealed.
Since they were hired in January last year, the quintet has handled a total of 12 cases, Williams also disclosed to the National Assembly yesterday in written responses to questions asked by his predecessor, PPP/C parliamentarian Anil Nandlall.
In 2017, $109 million was allocated to the Attorney-General’s chambers and in the 2018 budget an undisclosed sum was allocated for the hiring of Special Prosecutors, including a foreign lawyer.
Against this background, Nandlall asked Williams to furnish the House with information on the number of Special Prosecutors hired, their salaries and benefits, travel and hotel costs incurred and the number of cases they are/have been handling for the period January, 2017 to March, 2018.