The Appeal Court has set aside three days in January for the start of an appeal by former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday against a jail sentence for failing to declare a London-bank account to the Integrity Commission.

The three-member appeal court also said it would provide in writing, the decision not to grant a stay in the proceedings as had been sought by Panday. 

Panday had filed a motion in the Court of Appeal asking that his case be put on hold since he had requested full disclosure of several documents including the dates of meetings between Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls and Attorney General John Jeremie relating to a land deal involving the Chief Magistrate.

Mc Nicolls had presided over the trial in April this year in which Panday, who served as Prime Minister from 1995-2001, had been found guilty of failing to disclose the bank account to the Integrity Commission for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Panday, who is on TT$300,000 (US$50,000) bail, was also fined TT$60,000 (US$10,000) and given a two year jail term to run concurrently on all three charges. He was also ordered to pay the state TT$1.6 million (US$266,000) which represents the amount in the London bank account at the end of the three years.

Panday’s lawyer, British Queen Counsel Allan Newman said non disclosure of the documents would tantamount to bias against his client, but the prosecution headed by another British Queen Counsel, Sir Timothy Cassel dismissed the request as irrelevant.

The Appeal Court said that it had set January 23-25 to hear Panday’s appeal.