T&T man gets $1M bail on faked kidnapping charges

Trinidadian national Sawak Maraj, who was charged with faking his kidnapping and conspiring with others to secure a ransom, was yesterday granted his release on $1,000,000 bail.

Maraj is charged with knowingly giving false information to police that he had been kidnapped and that his abductor requested US$700,000, as well as with conspiring with two other persons to commit a felony by knowingly assisting in a negotiation to obtain the ransom.

Sawak Maraj

Maraj was brought before the court of the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown yesterday for a report on the readiness of the prosecution to proceed and for a trial date.

The prosecutor, however, stated that he was still awaiting a statement from ExxonMobil, the company where Maraj was allegedly seeking employment in Guyana.

Maraj’s attorney then reminded the court that at the last hearing, the magistrate stated that if the case file was still not completed, Maraj would be granted bail.

The Chief Magistrate subsequently advised the prosecution to ensure that its file is completed and then granted Maraj $500,000 bail on each charge. The proceedings were then adjourned until December 4th.

After Maraj’s bail was paid and his passport was lodged at the court, he was released.