Leo Hudson, a man accused of conning a number of persons out of money amounting to more than US$800,000 (J$57.6 million) was granted bail when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday.

The allegations against Hudson are that, pretending to be a foreign exchange trader, he collected money with the promise that his investors would receive monthly interest on their principal.

However, when he failed to provide the promised interest or return the initial investments, the complainants took the matter to the police.

The court was told that Hudson presented the complainants with statements, supposedly reflecting the status and progress of their accounts. It was later discovered however that these statements were false. Checks also showed that he had withdrawn huge sums from his account and sent them to Canada. The court was also told that there was no proof that the money he collected had actually been traded.

His lawyer however, argued, as she did when the matter was first mentioned, that Hudson was indeed a trader and had worked in that capacity at several comp-anies. She said the complainants' investments had simply not borne fruit and they had signed a contract indicating their know-ledge that the agreement was a risky one.

She said Hudson, 26, had no previous convictions, had a fixed address and was not a flight risk, as had been indicated by the prosecution. The court was earlier told that Hudson had reportedly told a complainant that he had purchased an airline ticket.

He was eventually granted $2 million bail and was ordered to report to the police three times per week. He is to return to court on September 29.