Health Minister Nelson Bascome participated in two voluntary interviews with detectives during a probe into an alleged theft, Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

Bascome, 52, is accused of misappropriating a Bank of Bermuda loan intended to start a business by directing it into his own pockets instead.

He denies wrongdoing, and is currently on trial at Magistrates' Court before Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

According to the case for the prosecution, Bascome stole $40,080.52 from a loan entrusted to him by the Bank of Bermuda for business purposes between September 24, 2003 and February 19, 2004.

Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale claimed during an earlier hearing that Bascome used the funds, paid into his Bank of Bermuda account, for his own benefit instead of for a business set up with Robert Smith to market a water filter Mr. Smith invented.

It is further alleged that the MP stole $20,000 from that company, called the Natural Business Company, in March 2004.

Ms Tyndale said Bascome received $20,000 on behalf of it relating to contracts of repair issued by the Government of Bermuda.

Again, she said, funds were paid into one of his accounts — this time with the Bank of Butterfield — and he used them for his own benefit, not that of the company. Mr. Smith complained to the Police in May 2005, resulting in an investigation by the Fraud Unit.

In evidence yesterday, Detective Constable Paul Ridley from that unit told the court that the first voluntary interview Bascome participated in was on May 30, 2006, and the second on June 13, 2006.

That was the only evidence heard during the latest session of the much-delayed trial.

The rest of the morning was spent with Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale and defence lawyers Victoria Pearman and Charles Richardson arguing legal points over the admissibility of the interviews as evidence.

Mr. Warner eventually ruled in favour of allowing the interviews to be put before the court.

However, the case was adjourned at lunchtime due to another commitment on the part of the defence team, and it will resume on Monday.