Former Bahamian Senator charged with Extortion, 13 counts

Nassau, Bahamas – July 21, 2017 – Fifteen counts of crime for former PLP Member of Parliament and former PLP Senator, Frank Smith.

Today, Smith was charged with one count of bribery, one count of attempted extortion and 13 counts of extortion; all of it allegedly happened as he was chairing the Public Hospitals Authority.

One strong allegation of evidence against Frank Smith is that he was extorting a $5,000 per month payment from Barbara Hanna, allegedly for getting her a contract with the Hospitals Authority.  The payments were between April 2016 to April 2017.  The bribery charge is also related to that contract.

Frank Smith, as expected, entered a not guilty plea but was denied bail by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt but appealed at the Supreme Court.  Smith made a successful bail application; bail was set at $50k.

Accompanied by his family and even more PLP supporters in court today, including former PLP Chairman, Raynard Rigby, Frank Smith is due to reappear in court on August 18.

Damian Gomez, QC is representing Smith.

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