One Stop Mall in Road Town, Tortola.
A business owner in the British Virgin Islands is rallying financial support for the territory’s former Premier Andrew Fahie, who is facing charges from U.S. authorities that he played a key role in a conspiracy to traffic drugs and launder money in the British territory.
A donation bin has been set up at the One Stop Mall in Road Town, Tortola where for the next month, those wishing to make monetary donations to the former premier can do so. Mall owner Patsy Lake says apart from cash, checks made payable to Albion “Bobby” Hodge would also be accepted. Hodge is the businessman who provided a $500,000 corporate security bond as part of Fahie’s bail requirement.
Ms. Lake told a local media outlet that the move came after friends and relatives asked her to make provisions for people to “show love” to the former head of government. She said that she was not in a position to adjudicate Fahie’s guilt or innocence. “That’s up to the court and God,” the mall proprietor remarked.
Fahie’s alleged co-conspirators, former Managing Director of the BVI Port Authority Oleanvine Maynard and her son Kadeem Maynard, have already pleaded guilty to the cocaine trafficking conspiracy, leaving the former premier to fight the charges alone when his trial begins in early January.
The mother-and-son duo each faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, unless the presiding judge deems them eligible for sentencing reductions, as has been argued by attorneys for the younger Maynard.
