FORMER FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has withdrawn his civil lawsuit against the Office of the Attorney General over the amount of money paid to State attorneys who were involved in seeking to have him extradi�ted to the United States.

He made this decision after current Attorney General John Jeremie promised last month to release all documents about legal fees paid by the State.

So far, the State has already paid at least $6.7 million to attorneys in this long legal battle.

An order from the High Court dated July 9 confirmed that Warner was allowed to withdraw his claim.

The order also said the State must pay Warners legal costs.

Warner is wanted by the US government on charges of wire fraud, racketeering, money laundering, and bri�bery, stemming from alleged corruption du�ring his tenure as a high-ranking official in FIFA and CONCACAF.

This withdrawal happened after the Attorney Generals Office sent a letter to Warners lawyer, Richard Jaggasar, on July 8 stating that the new Government believed in transparency and accountability and that AG Jeremie had approved the full release of the documents.

The letter suggested that since the information would be provided, the lawsuit was no longer needed.

On July 9, Warner was granted permission by the High Court to withdraw the claim.

The fees 

This new position is different from the previous governments approach. In the past, the AGs Office had given some information on legal fees but did not say who the money was paid to.

However, the new Government has now released a list of names and how much they were paid from 2014 to 2023.

The total amount paid so far is $6,718,720.46.

A large part of this money went to two attorneys.

James Lewis, KC, was paid $3,406,970.46, and Pamela Elder, SC, received $2,300,000.

Other payments included $416,250 to Michael Quamina, SC; $253,000 to Brent Hallpike; $230,000 to Netram Kowlessar; and $112,500 to Douglas Mendes, SC.

These payments are part of a bigger request from Warners legal team for information on 18 attorneys.

The Attorney General still needs to give information on the following attorneys: James Newman, KC; Israel Khan, SC; Ravi Rajcoomar, SC; Vanessa Gopaul; Jagdeo Singh; Gerald Ramdeen; Wayne Sturge; K Deosingh; Rachel Scott; Chris Seelochan; Ryan Rajcoomar; and Charles Russell Speechlys.

The lawsuit was started by Warner to force the Attorney Generals Office to release all payment details for the lawyers hired by the State for his extradition case.

In June 2023, then-chief magistrate Maria Busby Earle-�Caddle criticised former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi.

She said his handling of the extradition was a colos�sal misrepresentation and an Attorney General should always act with clean hands.

Her ruling allowed consti�tutional issues to be heard in the High Court, a matter that was before Justice Karen Reid.

On Tuesday, British attorney Robert Strang, who is now leading the States case in Warners extradition proceedings, informed Justice Reid that Jeremie has launched an official probe into the handling of the extradition matter against Warner.

This investigation, he said, follows the discovery of a missing key document and judicial criticism of the States previous conduct.

During Tuesdays hearing, Strang requested an adjournment of the constitutional claim, suggesting that time was needed by the State to complete the probe.

The judge agreed to adjourn the trial, allowing Strang time to present the investigations findings.

I am willing to receive this evidence, so that conclusions are not drawn based on speculation, she stated.

A status hearing for the case is scheduled for September 12, and a tentative date of October 3 has been set for the trial should the court decide it is to take place.