Fred Smith, QC, calls for Nygard to be jailed after latest court no-show

Fred Smith, QC, calls for Nygard to be jailed after latest court no-show
Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. (FILE PHOTO)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Billionaire fashion mogul Peter Nygard was a no-show once again in the Supreme Court on Thursday; an action which led Fred Smith, QC, to urge the court immediately to arrest and incarcerate Nygard.

Court proceedings got underway shortly after 10:00 a.m. yesterday.

Nygard was due to appear before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson to provide the court with an explanation about his absence, but only his Attorney Carlton Martin showed up. This provided Smith with all the ammunition he needed to argue that the court should not allow Nygard nor his attorneys to provide any further excuses to prolong the court from bringing the eight-year case to an end.

Smith argued that jail time should be considered adequate punishment for Nygard. He also asserted that a monetary fine would not suffice as he is a billionaire.

Smith proposed that the court issue a two-year custodial sentence for what he said has been a flagrant disrespect for the court’s authority.

Nygard’s attorney told the court that he was not prepared to argue on Smith’s submissions and requested to have another date set for him to provide his arguments.

Justice Grant-Thompson granted his request.

The defense and prosecution return to the Supreme Court at 9:00 a.m. on March 29th at which time Martin will respond to Smith’s arguments.

As of yesterday, there was still no confirmation from Nygard’s legal team as to whether or not the fashion designer will finally appear before the court on that date.

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.