Raj Dayal Case: ICAC seeking expertise to authenticate soundtrack

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has demanded the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to authenticate whether the voice on the audio recording presented by the businessman Patrick Soobhany is that of Raj Dayal. However, in the absence of local experts, the ICAC could seek the expertise of foreign firms to ascertain the identity of the voice on the soundtrack. A comparison of voice samples, extracts of various soundtracks of the former Minister’s radio interventions, should be conducted. To recall, Raj Dayal was arrested on 6 April 2016 following his interrogation at the ICAC office. He has been provisionally charged of ‘bribery by public official.’ The former commissioner of police and Minister of Environment is accused of having “solicited” the businessman Patrick Soobhany on 26 March 2016. In his complaint to ICAC, Mr Soobhany alleged that Raj Dayal had solicited a contribution for his political activities in exchange of an Environmental Impact Assessment licence for a real estate project at Gros Cailloux.  Raj Dayal was released on bail after appearing in Court. However the former minister denies the allegations levelled against him. He refused to be confronted with excerpts from the soundtrack and has retained the services of a panel of lawyers namely Jacques Panglose, Ajay Daby and Avineshwur Dayal.