Drug allegations might have led to visa revocation - Robertson's attorney

There are indications that allegations that former Energy Minister James Robertson had been involved in the illicit drug trade might have led to the revocation of his and his wife's United States visas.

Robertson's US-based attorney, Kirk Barrow, said that in a letter to his client, the US Embassy in Kingston cited sections of the Nationality Act which resulted in the revocation.

But he said based on the letter, the legal team is of the opinion that affidavits filed by Robertson's former political ally, Ian Johnson, played a major role in the matter.

In the affidavits, Johnson had claimed that the former energy minister used a shipping company owned by his father to traffic drugs to the US and Barrow said the US no doubt paid attention to the allegations.

He added that Mrs Robertson's visa might have been revoked on the basis that she would have benefited from the proceeds of the alleged drug deals.

Johnson also alleged that Robertson had conspired to have him killed.

application turned down

The affidavits were part of an application by Johnson in seeking political asylum in the US. However, his application was eventually turned down.

Barrow made the disclosures while being interviewed on Power 106 FM's 'Perkins on Line' yesterday, where he said allegations that Robertson participated in the David Smith-led multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, Olint, were also a factor in the revocations.

"The warning is that anybody who invested in these schemes, (the US) government can legitimately go after you on several grounds with respect to money laundering, failing to pay taxes, if you are in fact a US citizen or US resident," he noted.

Barrow is maintaining that his client is innocent of the allegations and is expressing confidence that Robertson's name will be cleared.

In the meantime, he said an announcement would soon be made about steps to have Robertson's and his wife's US visas reissued. He disclosed that the United States Embassy in Kingston has invited the couple to reapply for their visas

In the meantime, Golding yesterday announced that he had taken over the mining portfolio in the aftermath of Robertson's resignation on Tuesday.

The resignation could potentially hasten a long-pending Cabinet reshuffle.