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Court yet to rule on request for access to Brutus’ bank account
Kaieteur News-The Georgetown Magistrates’ Court is yet to rule whether the State’s request to access Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus’ bank account would be granted.
On Friday, Acting Chief Magistrate, Faith McGusty, adjourned the matter and scheduled her ruling for February 7, 2025.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Calvin Brutus
The State, through Prosecutor David Braithwaite, on January 17, 2025, filed an application seeking access to Brutus’ bank account as part of its investigation into the alleged financial crimes. The attorney requested a banker’s book order to access the records.
Brutus is facing 261 financial crime charges.
Defence attorneys Dominick Bess and Eusi Anderson opposed the request, arguing that previous findings from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) invalidated the application.
Bess contended that the prosecution’s interpretation of the Evidence Act was flawed, arguing that the requested documents did not fall within the Act’s definition of a “banker’s book,” which includes items like cheques.
Further, Anderson presented a letter in court that he claimed was from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), addressed to the head of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). Anderson told the court that the DPP had concluded that a suspicious transaction report (STR) generated from Brutus’ financial activities did not meet the threshold for criminal charges.
“The STR was submitted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),” Anderson explained, adding that the State’s failure to act on the DPP’s decision invalidated their current application. “This application forces the court to improperly assist the prosecution in their pursuit of evidence they never had to begin with,” Anderson stated.
Anderson accused SOCU of “fishing for evidence where none existed” and described the prosecution’s application as “embarrassing” and “dead on arrival.” He urged the court to reject the request, warning that granting it could set a dangerous precedent for the misuse of the court’s authority.
The defence continued to argue that the letter was central to their opposition. Anderson also clarified that the account in question was Brutus’ salary account, not one of the frozen accounts linked to the case.
As such, Magistrate McGusty instructed the prosecution to provide further details on the account and submit relevant authorities on January 31, 2025.
The Magistrate said that her ruling will be handed down once all required documents have been submitted by the prosecution.
The prosecutor also indicated to the court that he would prepare an index of all the statements related to the various matters involving Brutus.
Meanwhile, a similar request was made for businessman Corwin Nicholson, who is jointly charged with Brutus for conspiracy to commit criminal offences. Magistrate McGusty said that a ruling on Nicholson’s bank records would also be forthcoming.
(Court yet to rule on request for access to Brutus’ bank account)
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