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Brutus on $16.25M bail for 231 financial crime charges
Embattled Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus (right) and defence Attorney Yuborn Allicock
Kaieteur News-Embattled Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus on Monday returned to court and was slapped with 201 additional financial crimes charges before he was released on $10.5M bail. In an earlier court appearance, he had faced 30 similar charges and was placed on $6.2M bail. He is now on a total of $16.5M bail for the 231 charges.
Brutus, his driver Kevin George and businessman Asif Zafarally, who are facing similar charges made their court appearance. At his last court proceedings on October 24, Brutus faced 30 charges in relation to misconduct in public office, larceny as a public officer, money laundering, and liability of officials. For those charges, he was granted bail in the amount of $6.2 million.
Brutus on $6M bail for fraud, larceny, money laundering charges
On Monday, Brutus was granted an additional $10.05 million bail for the remaining 201 charges, primarily related to the liability of officials. The court session, which began at 9:00 hrs., was presided over by Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty. Brutus, dressed in a suit, was accompanied by a legal team including attorneys Yuborn Allicock, Eusi Anderson, and Earl Daniels.
To expedite the proceedings, the charges were not read aloud; instead, bail was set for each individual charge. During the hearing, prosecutor David Braithwaite informed the court that the state intends to pursue the charges as indictable offences, meaning Brutus will not be permitted to enter a plea before the trial begins.
Attorney Allicock, representing Brutus, argued for a self-bail arrangement for his client, emphasising that the charges against Brutus were merely allegations and that he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Allicock further noted that Brutus had already been granted a significant bail amount of $6.2 million in the past, suggesting that the current bail should be considered in that context.
However, the prosecutor strongly objected to this request. Braithwaite proposed that Brutus’s bail be set at $100,000 per charge, noting the seriousness of the offences and the substantial sums of money involved in the case. He also reminded the court that several bank accounts linked to Brutus and his wife, Adonika Aulder, had been frozen as part of the investigation, with millions of dollars allegedly tied to the accused.
After considering both arguments, The Acting Chief Magistrate set Brutus’s bail at $50,000 per charge, amounting to a total of $10.05 million for the 201 charges. Brutus is scheduled to return to court on December 18, 2024, for the first 30 charges, and again on January 17, 2025, for the remaining charges. His co-accused, including his wife Aulder, George, and Zafarally, are also expected to appear in court on December 18 for statements related to the charges.
Following the court session, Allicock made a brief statement to the media on behalf of his client. He said: “Mr. Brutus would just like to remind the public that he is repudiating any of these allegations or charges and reaffirming his innocence and to state that he plans to with all full vim and vigour, to defend these allegations. And on the next court date, we intend to show as much as we can regarding these matters.”
Brutus, along with his wife, and businessman, was charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) following a lengthy investigation into alleged financial crimes. The charges span several months and cover a range of offences, including money laundering and obtaining money by false pretense. In the October 24 court session, Brutus answered to 30 charges, including 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 jointly charged with George and Zafarally, who are also facing two counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. Brutus’s wife, Aulder, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, faced two charges of money laundering. Bail amounts for the co-accused ranged from $100,000 to $500,000, with Aulder and George both receiving $1 million bail each. Zafarally’s bail was set at $2 million.
(Brutus on $16.25M bail for 231 financial crime charges)
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