Brutus’ case does not make entire police force bad – Jagdeo

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Calvin Brutus’ implications in financial crimes cannot be used to paint the entire Guyana Police Force (GPF) as bad, says Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

Speaking during his weekly Press Conference on Wednesday, Jagdeo noted that “you have a lot of hard-working policemen and people in the army and other services.”

He was at the time responding to comments made by members of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) calling for external investigators and their insinuations that the GPF cannot perform its task.

The Vice President compared the issue to the recent resignation of an NYPD Commissioner amid corruption probe.

He also pointed out that “several [former] Deputy Commissioners appointed by the APNU+AFC Government were fingered in corrupt practices or allegations of corrupt practices within the Police Force, similar to what Brutus is charged with about procurement related frauds, etc.”

Brutus, along with his wife Adonika Aulder, his driver Kevin George, and businessman Asif Zafarally appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on October 24 to face a series of charges relating to financial fraud. Collectively, they were granted in excess of $10 million bail.

Reports are that 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 also jointly charged with George and Zafarally, facing two counts of obtaining money by false pretense.

Jagdeo on Wednesday further stated that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) work together in the background to combat fraud. These agencies execute their duties in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act.

“So [with] the system, if you bypass one layer, you get caught at another layer. It means the system is working. You may go unnoticed for a while but the system will pick you up,” Jagdeo explained.

Recently, Guyana was evaluated by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) which confirmed that the institutional framework is consistent with international standards.

The Vice President pointed out that several systems are also being put in place to improve the GPF including training, updating of laws and more. The Government is also working to strengthen border security with a paperless system, digitise organisations such as the GPF case management and other files, the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service, and others under the Ministry of Home Affairs.