Asst Police Commissioner Brutus charged with GY$376 million worth of financial crimes

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 October 2024, 21:57 by Writer

Guyana Police Force Assistant Police Commissioner, Calvin Brutus was Thursday slapped with 30 financial crime charges for transactions totalling GY$376.2 million ranging from money laundering, conspiracy to defraud, larceny, misconduct in public office and liability of public officers.

He is represented by a battery of lawyers including Eusi Anderson and Earl Daniels.

Despite objections by the prosecution to bail for the police officer, who was clad in his official uniform, on the grounds that he allegedly misappropriated large sums of money to his personal benefit, Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty granted him bail totalling GY$6.2 million.

The charges included two counts of conspiracy to defraud by obtaining money by false pretence totalling GY$93.6 million for goods not supplied to the Guyana Police Consumers Cooperative Society Limited on June 29, 2024 and July 9, 2024. A joint charge was laid against Mr Brutus, police sergeant Kevin George and businessman Ashraf Zafarally, and the second charge was against Mr Brutus and the businessman.

Attorney-at-Law Glenn Hanoman secured GY$500,000 bail for 74-year-old Mr Zafarally who owns a business at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. The other co-accused were also granted GY$500,000 bail on each charge. They all have to lodge their passports and report monthly to the Special Organised Crime Unit of the Guyana Police Force. Mr Hanoman told the court that his client was willing t0 settle the matter by reconciling records and if the goods were over-priced, “we will refund.”

Mr Brutus was charged with two counts of larceny by a public officer for allegedly stealing GY$60 million from the Guyana Police Consumers Cooperative Society Limited between November 28 and 29, 2023, and GY$20 million on November 16, 2023.

Police say some of the money was funneled to his wife’s business for items supposedly supplied to the police force. As a result, the Assistant Police Commissioner was charged with misconducting himself in public office while he performed the functions of Deputy Police Commissioner (Administration) in June, 2024 by willfully instructing Superintendent Balwant of the Police Finance Department to provide 221 payment vouchers in the names of Triple A Depot and South Quata without reasonable excuse or justification.

Also read to him were 20 charges of Liability of Officers under the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act for allegedly defrauding the State of a total GY$4,199,840 by funneling the money to Triple A by using his wife to do so. There are 201 more similar charges to be read to him when he and his co-accused return to court on November 18.

The Assistant Police Commissioner is accused of misconducting himself in public office on November 16, 2023 when he caused W0man Special Inspector Collins to prepare and encash a GY$20 million cheque in her name for the supply of regulation shoes and other items but instead the money was handed over to him. Police also alleged that the items were not delivered or supplied to the Quartermaster Stores without reasonable excuse or justification.

Further, as Deputy Police Commissioner (Administration), Mr Brutus also misconducted himself in public office on January 11, 2024 when he instructed Police Superintendent Balwant Persaud of the Finance Department to prepare and issue cheques for GY$6.4 million and GY$7.1 million from the Police Force’s Central Welfare Fund for the payment for supplies without any reasonable justification or explanation. Other misconduct in public office charges are that November 28, 2023 he instructed Woman Inspector Collins from the Guyana Police Cooperative Credit Union Society account to deliver and encash in her name GY$60 million for repair and maintenance, and for the cash to be handed over but the money was not used for the intended purpose without any reasonable explanation or justification.

His wife, Adonika Aulder, was charged with two counts of money laundering for allegedly having GY$243.3 million in the account of her business, South Quata, between December 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024, and GY$108.6 million in a “Triple ‘A’ Depot business account. In both instances, SOCU investigators said the monies in whole or in part were derived directly or indirectly from the proceeds of crime.

The Assistant Police Commissioner also faces two counts of money laundering connected to the purchase of a property on Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown from Bish and Sons for GY$85 million, and another in Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara for GY$20 million, knowing the money in whole or in part and directly or indirectly to be proceeds of crime.

Mr Brutus and his wife avoided spending a night in jail after the court waited after working hours for a businessman to provide his property transport as surety. The court refused to take a guarantee that the bail would be paid on Friday if Mr Brutus and his wife were allowed to leave for home.