High-profile politician in Haiti accused of corruption meets with judge for interview
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A former ambassador and member of Haiti’s since-dissolved transitional presidential council appeared in court for an interview with a judge Monday to face corruption charges.
Smith Augustin met behind closed doors with a judge investigating accusations that he and two other former council members demanded more than $750,000 from the director of the government-owned National Bank of Credit to secure his job.
The accusations against Augustin, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Louis Gérald Gilles were made public in October 2024 by an anti-corruption agency in a scathing report.
Augustin did not speak to reporters, but his attorney, Mario Delcy, said the meeting with the judge went well and that Augustin would be available whenever authorities need to question him.
Haiti’s Unit for Combating Corruption said in its report that the three former council members and the former bank manager, Raoul Pascal Pierre-Louis, all face criminal charges of bribery and corruption. It noted that the suspects have denied the accusations.
Augustin previously served as Haitian ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Gilles is an ex-senator and Vertilaire is a former investigative judge.