Former Opposition Leader Michael Baptiste has made a criminal complaint against Legal Affairs and Foreign Minister Elvin Nimrod to the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF).
Speaking to GRENADA TODAY on Wednesday, Baptiste said that he visited the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) head office in St. George's and met with two officers including Inspector Earl Dunbar.
According to Baptiste, the complaint relates to a statement made by Minister Nimrod at a press conference on Tuesday at the Ministerial Complex in the Botanical Gardens.
The former Member of Parliament for the St. Andrew South-west constituency said that he had managed to obtain both the video and audio recordings of the press conference in which the "criminally libellous" allegations were made against him.
The senior government minister was addressing the issue of the fraud charge brought by Baptiste in connection with monies he received to attend an international whaling conference while a member of the government.
Nimrod was responding to a question posed by this newspaper to explain why the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) did not bring criminal charge against embattled Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell
who is engulfed in charges of alleged bribery.
He said that the matter involving Baptiste was different from that of the Grenadian leader since Baptiste allegedly collected money for himself from a "certain government" that was really intended for government.
The government minister was then politely told by the newly appointed Solicitor-General, Avril Trotman to refrain from making further comments on the issue since it was still pending in court.
Baptiste had once served as Agriculture and Fisheries Minister with the Mitchell government before he broke ranks to take up the post of Leader of the Opposition.
An angry Baptiste told this newspaper that he intends to bring both criminal and civil libel proceedings against Nimrod for seeking to tarnish his image and character.
He vowed to make the minister provide evidence in a court of law that he allegedly collected money from the government of Japan that was earmarked for the Mitchell-led government.
Baptiste said that he decided to report the matter to the police to investigate Minister Nimrod's alleged "criminal libelous" statement against him.
"Let's see if the police are playing games and only interested in prosecuting the small man and those persons who are considered to be anti-government", he remarked.
Baptiste also said that he would be meeting next week with attorney-at-law, Anslem Clouden to look at bringing a civil libel law suit against the government minister.