Unexplained wealth orders go to Privy Council

LIAT (1974) Ltd. (LIAT) workers.

To date, some workers have received two monetary gifts and a loan from the Government of Barbados. In addition, some workers who contributed to the Barbados National Insurance and Social Security Scheme have received what they are entitled to from the Scheme.

The Government of Barbados will offer an ex-gratia payment to former Barbadian workers of LIAT.

(Nation News)

The reinstatement by the Court of Appeal of preliminary unexplained wealth orders, which allowed the Police to seize the assets of two families allegedly linked to drug trafficking, will be challenged at the Privy Council.

On Wednesday, Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Mira Dean-Armorer and Vasheist Kokaram approved leave for Attorneys for the two families to challenge the Appeal Court’s decision of January 31.

In that ruling, the court allowed the appeal of the Police and remitted the orders to the High Court for further hearing.

The Judges – Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Mark Mohammed and

Maria Wilson – were asked by the Police to overturn the orders of Justice Carla Brown-Antoine, who reversed her decisions to grant preliminary unexplained wealth orders against the families on the basis that the Police did not provide sufficient evidence to sustain the orders.

The orders were initially granted by Brown-Antoine in 2019 on an application by acting Superintendent Wendell Lucas and acting Assistant Superintendent of Police Richard Taylor against the members of two families.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Attorney for the officers Ravi Rajcoomar said there were no objections to the application to appeal to the Privy Council. Soo Hon said since it was a matter of public importance, the court was giving its permission.

In 2020, Attorneys for the families asked the court to set aside the preliminary unexplained-wealth orders and Brown-Antoine did so, revoking her earlier orders.

In both cases, the police argued they had reasonable cause to suspect the wealth of the five members of the two families was unlawfully obtained as a result of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Some of the five have been charged with varying offences, which are pending.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)