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Brutus withdraws case challenging order to freeze bank accounts containing $500M
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Calvin Brutus (Brutus withdraws case challenging order to freeze bank accounts containing $500M)
Kaieteur News- Embattled Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Calvin Brutus has withdrawn his legal challenge against the order to freeze multiple bank accounts containing a total of $500 million.
The accounts, belonging to Brutus, his wife Adonika Aulder, and their businesses, were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial misconduct.
The Attorney General’s Chambers announced on Saturday that Brutus’ attorney informed the court on Friday of his and his wife’s decision to discontinue the case.
Brutus and Aulder had initially approached the High Court seeking to lift the court order that froze their accounts, filing suit on August 19, 2024, against Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Faizal Karimbaksh, acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C.
This marks the second High Court case that Brutus has withdrawn since he was criminally charged for financial related offences. On October 26, Brutus withdrew a constitutional case against various state agencies, claiming victimization during the ongoing investigation.
In the court documents, Brutus claimed that he was being victimized during the investigation pointing specifically to the restriction placed on his bank accounts. Brutus was sent on leave to allow for the probe into the allegations made against him. He disclosed that he was not given a fair hearing and that there were several leaks to the media and social media that have prejudiced the case against him. As a result, he sought declarations including that there was a breach of the rules of Natural Justice.
It was during a late-night interview with members of the press, after members of SOCU and SWAT turned up at Brutus and his wife’s living quarters at Eve Leary – when Brutus told reporters that there is a background to the charges and all would be revealed in the constitutional case.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo responded publicly to Brutus’ claim, saying, “He could let out cats, dogs, pigs, anything that he has and he wants to let out, let him let it out.” Jagdeo dismissed the suggestion that any disclosure by Brutus could be compromising to the government.
Moreover, in the AG’s Chambers statement, it was noted that Brutus is yet to pay costs from a prior legal loss in which he sought court permission to leave the country with his wife, who needed medical attention in the United States. That application was dismissed by Justice Gino Persaud, who ordered Brutus and Aulder to pay $250,000 each to the AG, SOCU, and the Acting Commissioner of Police.
The AG’s Chambers stated that if these costs remain unpaid after six weeks, legal steps will be taken to recover the amount.
On October 25, Brutus along with his wife Adonika Aulder, his driver Kevin George, and businessman Asif Zafarally appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to face a series of serious charges.
Collectively, they were granted bail exceeding $10 million.
Brutus answered 30 out of a total of 240 charges, which included four counts of misconduct in public office, two counts of larceny as a public officer, two counts of money laundering, and 20 counts related to the liability of officials.
He was placed on bail totalling over $6 million for these charges. Brutus was also jointly charged with George and Zafarally, who are facing two counts of obtaining money by false pretense.
Brutus’ wife, Aulder, who is 25 years-old and pregnant, faced two charges of money laundering. The bail amounts for the defendants ranged from $100,000 to $500,000: Aulder was granted $1 million, George received $1 million, and Zafarally was set at $2 million.
(Brutus withdraws case challenging order to freeze bank accounts containing $500M)
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- Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Calvin Brutus, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, High Court, S.C., Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)
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