But he was arrested in October 1986 and accused of shooting the Moo Youngs, who were his business partners. They had allegedly cheated him out of more than $400,000.

The prosecution brought forward a witness, Neville Butler, who testified that he arranged the meeting between Maharaj and the victims at Miami's Dupont Plaza Hotel and witnessed Maharaj commit the murders in a room inside the hotel.

They also presented evidence that a dozen of Maharaj's fingerprints were found inside the hotel room where the murders took place.

According to Reprieve, Maharaj had six alibi witnesses, who each confirmed that he was 30 miles away at the time, but none of them were asked to testify at his trial.

He was found guilty and sentenced to death - a penalty that was later reduced to life in prison.

According to a motion filed in January by Maharaj's attorneys, a "Colombian drug cartel member confirmed that the Moo Young murders were committed at the behest of Pablo Escobar."

The defence motion alleged that the Moo Youngs were laundering money for the Colombian cartels, and that this is what caused them to become embroiled with Escobar.

As part of the new court proceedings, Maharaj's lawyers will present affidavit from Jhon Jairo Velasquez Vasquez (known as "Popeye"), one of Escobar's lieutenants at the time of the murders, explaining that Escobar ordered the Moo Young murders. According to Popeye, Escobar had the Moo Youngs killed because they were stealing from him.