Friday January 18, 2013
Kaieteur News
Dudus’ assets seized; Govt. facing legal action from relatives...
Forfeiture claim against Justin O’Gilvie, wife and Coke’s relatives withdrawn Jamaica Observer - The assets of former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke were yesterday ordered forfeited to the State. The order, made by Justice Lennox Campbell, comes more than two years after the assets were frozen when Coke was extradited to the United States to face gun and drug-running charges. He is now serving time in a US prison after pleading guilty to lesser charges last year. The order was made in default, as Coke was not represented in court to challenge the application which was made by the Government’s Asset Recovery Agency. Coke’s assets include his business, Presidential Click Promotions Limited. Meanwhile, the Asset Recovery Agency Wednesday withdrew its claim for the forfeiture of the assets of businessman Justin O’Gilvie and his wife, as well as relatives of Coke. Following the withdrawal, Justice Lennox Campbell gave O’Gilvie, his wife and Coke’s relatives permission to pursue damages resulting from their assets being frozen for more than two years. O’Gilvie’s assets, including that of his companies, Incomparable Enterprises and Bulls Eye Security Services Limited, those of his wife Maxine; Coke’s mother, Patricia Halliburton (now deceased); and the mother of his child, Stephanie Gayle, were frozen in June 2010.
Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke The assets were frozen following an application by the Assets Recovery Agency, which had claimed that the assets were given to Coke’s relatives and friends to launder. Coke was, at the time, being pursued by law enforcement personnel to effect an arrest warrant for his extradition to the United States on drug and gunrunning charges. At the same time, a battle is brewing between O’Gilvie and the National Commercial Bank (NCB), which has given him until January 29 to close the accounts of his businesses and those of this wife and children, his attorney Paul Beswick said. Beswick told the Jamaica Observer that at the next court date on January 25 he will be seeking an order for the accounts to remain open. According to the lawyer, he could not see why the bank would want to close the
accounts as his client did nothing wrong. “Not a thing can be attributed to Mr O’Gilvie,” Beswick said. “He doesn’t even have a traffic ticket.” According to the attorney, five other banks have refused to do business with his client and that O’Gilvie’s businesses would crash if NCB closed the accounts. He alleged that the alienation of his client was due to his “unfair” targeting by the Asset Recovery Agency and that there must be systems in place to prevent banks from closing people’s accounts without sufficient evidence. “Everybody is at risk,” Beswick said. Last month, the High Court lifted the freeze on the assets, saying the agency had no case. Beswick said last month that the two-year freeze had severely damaged O’Gilvie’s once-thriving businesses. He also blasted the Assets Recovery Agency for acting hastily to the detriment of his client, who has been a businessman for the past 25 years. Yesterday, the court ordered that the Government pay the legal fees of the persons whose assets were unfrozen. Attorney Chukwueneka Cameron, who is representing the estate of Halliburton and Gayle, said he was awaiting further instructions from his clients before proceeding with action to recover damages as a result of the action of the Assets Recovery Agency.
Grenada Election: February 1 is the Nomination Day ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - CMC – Candidates contesting the February 19 general elections here will have to submit their relevant documents on February 1, Nomination Day. In addition, Supervisor of Elections, Judy Benoit, said members of the protective services will cast their ballots on February 15. Electoral Officials said that voter registration ended on Wednesday ahead of
January 17 in keeping with the provisions of the writ issued by Governor General Sir Carlyle Glean. “The system is electronic and if we registered anyone after midnight we will be in violation of the law,” said Benoit. Many voters flocked to registration offices over the past few days after Prime Minister Tillman Thomas urged them to ensure they are registered in order to cast a
ballot in the election that is likely to be contested by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition New National Party (NNP), the Grenada United labour Party (GULP) and the recently formed National United Front (NUF). Meanwhile, the police said they would be meeting with the leaders of the various political parties on Friday as campaigning continues across the island.
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VENEZUELA MILITARY TO... From page 19 Chavez also has defended officers accused by the U.S. of drug trafficking and blasted what he’s said is fabricated evidence against them. Chavez’s government is replete with military brass, including seven of 29 Cabinet ministers. When Chavez’s allies swept the country’s gubernatorial elections in December, 11 of the country’s 23 governorships ended up in the hands of former military officers allied with the president. If he dies or otherwise leaves power, the country’s constitution requires an election be called within 30 days to replace him, which could unleash a power struggle. What may ultimately guide the transition is the complex mix of loyalties among both top leadership and lower-ranking officers, said Rocio San Miguel, president of the nonprofit group Citizen Control for Security, Defense and the Armed Force. A former paratrooper, Chavez enjoys explicit support from his two top military leaders, Defense Minister Adm. Diego Molero and chief strategic operational officer, army Gen. Wilmer Barrientos, both of whom the president appointed. Cabello, who’s a close Chavez ally and former army lieutenant, can also count on officers promoted by the country’s main military academy around 1987, the year of his class. Retired Adm. Ivan Carratu estimated more than 85 men from that class, out of hundreds of highranking officers, are serving in command posts around the
country. But while the top leadership is solidly proChavez, the loyalties of some 8,500 to 10,000 middle- and low-ranking officers remain unknown, San Miguel said, and they could determine the military’s posture. “We are clearly in a transition in Venezuela and what’s to be defined is what is the real alternative to power, first within Chavismo and secondly, with regard to the opposition’s aspirations,” San Miguel said. Opposition politicians insist that many in the armed forces are unhappy with Chavez for introducing Cuban officials among their ranks and for failing to improve soldiers’ low wages and poor benefits. Carratu told The Associated Press that more than 100 officers, largely colonels, have been kept out of active duty after being identified as unsympathetic to Chavez’s policies. He added that the authorities hope to retire many of them after two years out of active duty. Carratu said another batch of officers is not aligned with any political movement and consider themselves loyal only to the constitution. “There exists a group of soldiers ... where what’s totally and absolutely important is the army,” Carratu said. “It’s where there isn’t visible authority.” Another question complicating any transition is
a 125,000 person-strong civilian militia that the Chavez government has cultivated as a shadow army defending his programs. San Miguel estimated that about 30,000 of them could be considered armed combatants. Under the command of a Chavez-appointed army general, the militia represents “a threat to the civilian population that decides to protest peacefully,” she said. At least for now, the military appears to be playing its historic part by ensuring peace, said Diego MoyaOcampos, a political analyst with the London-based economic consultancy IHS Global Insight. “In the current scenario of weak institutions in Venezuela, the armed forces plays a role of a sort of constitutional police that guarantees the constitution and the democratic process,” Moya-Ocampos said. “The military is committed to political stability and to the Venezuelan Constitution.” “There are tensions behind the scenes but not strong enough yet to fragment the armed forces.” San Miguel, however, suggested the military simply may be waiting until the president’s departure to make any move, as are all the players in Venezuela’s postChavez chess game. When will it finally reveal its plans? “Not until there’s a real alternative of power,” San Miguel said.