State prosecutor Teshanna Lake is expected to respond to a no-case submission made by the defence in the trial of acting Registrar of Deeds Azeena Baksh, who is accused of fraudulently causing or procuring valuable securities in the total sum of $4.5 million.
Attorney Nigel Hughes last week Monday made a no-case submission on behalf of Baksh. Lake is expected to reply to his submission on February 3rd, 2020, after which Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, who is presiding over the trial, is expected to rule whether or not Baksh is guilty of the offence.
Hughes closed his case in October after the final witness testified on behalf of Baksh.
Baksh, who is on $250,000 bail, has denied the charge that while being an appointee of the Judicial Service Commission, between May 1st, 2014 and January 31st, 2017, with intent to defraud, she caused or procured valuable securities to the sum of $4, 534, 480 to be delivered to her bank of Nova Scotia account for her own use and benefit by pretending that she was a contracted employee of the Deeds and Commercial Registries.
She was charged in 2017 with the offence. A statement from the Chambers of the Attorney-General said that both the Human Resources and Accounting departments of the registry complained that Baksh, as head of the budget agency, the sole person in authority to approve and sign off the payroll of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority and one of the main signatories on the authority’s bank account, allegedly “unlawfully paid herself gratuity well knowing she was a pensionable employee having been appointed by the Judicial Service Commission.”
She had also allegedly unlawfully paid herself a higher salary than was approved by the Judicial Service Commission.
