WASHINGTON (Reuters)

A former minister in the government of Barbados was sentenced today (April 27) to two years in prison for laundering bribes he received from a Barbadian insurance company through a United States (US) bank, the US Justice Department said.

Donville Inniss, 55, who had served as minister of industry in the Caribbean nation and as a member of its parliament, was convicted by a federal jury in January 2020, the department said in a statement.

RECEIVED BRIBES FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Evidence presented at trial showed that in 2015 and 2016, Inniss took part in a scheme to launder into the United States approximately US$36,000 in bribes he had received from executives of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited to help the company secure two government contracts, the statement said.

Inniss concealed the nature of the bribes by receiving them through a dental company and a bank located in Elmont, New York, according to the statement.

Inniss, a legal permanent resident of the United States who lived in Florida, had been charged in Brooklyn federal court.