Dear Editor,
The name of Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus has been echoing around Guyana for the last few months and his legal saga recently gained new life both before the courts and on social media. News stories, legal filings, scandalous posts and jokes aside, many must be wondering who exactly is Calvin Brutus, and what has he done to merit the seeming heavy artillery battering he’s receiving from the Police Force and overarching agencies. I for one was curious, so I did some cursory research and was met with a few surprises.
Assistant Commissioner Brutus is facing a plethora of criminal charges, mostly linked to his alleged irregular financial dealings. With an alleged $800 million in accounts and properties linked to him and his immediate family, questions abound. How does a public servant get access to that kind of money? Did his superiors look the other way? Where are the regulatory officers within the financial institutions handling these funds? What happens now?
Brutus is no stranger to the news. In October of 2016, the then Senior Superintendent of Police and Commander of ‘E” Division (Linden) was suddenly transferred to “A” Division (Georgetown/East Bank) as Deputy Commander. According to the news, there was speculation that his transfer resulted from misconduct. Without access to internal police documents we may never know what caused this action, but at this point one starts to question the integrity of his character. By May 2017, Brutus was Commander in “C” Division (ECD), where allegations of misconduct continued to follow him.
In 2020, the Senior Superintendent of Police moved to the High Court, challenging a decision by the Police Service Commission (PSC) to deny him a promotion to Assistant Commissioner of Police. He claimed that the allegations of indiscipline upon which the denial was based, was “irrelevant” to his promotion. He also sought to cancel the promotions of several other ranks whom he felt were not entitled to them. Ultimately, the court ruled that the PSC was well within its rights in bypassing him for promotion.
Now that we’ve established the character of Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus, let’s attempt to follow the money. Documents published on social media, purporting to be copies of a court order, allege that Brutus and his immediate family and registered businesses – including a toddler – hold accounts at three separate financial agencies. The monies allegedly held in these accounts amount to over $400 million. What could possibly be the source of these funds when the Assistant Commissioner’s salary is $491, 487? Could the fact that both Brutus and spouse own businesses that provided goods and services for the very GPF that employs him have something to do with his mega wealth? How was this allowed to fester?
The financial institutions involved in the case are not without blame. According to Guyana’s Anti Money Laundering Act No. 13 of 2009 Section 15 (4)(d), when opening accounts for “politically exposed persons” (any individual entrusted with prominent public functions), financial institutions are required to make reasonable efforts to establish the source of the wealth and property. It is a requirement that a manager be called to inspect the application of such a person. Was the manager then, complicit? Of note, most of the larger amounts held reside in multiple accounts at the same bank. That in itself is a red flag, even without the “political person” caveat. Someone was either sleeping on the job or helping to facilitate the fraud.
The Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) of the GPF appears to have woken up and is making progress in the case. Notably though, many persons are skeptical about the ability of the GPF to conduct a fair and effective investigation of one of its own senior ranks. Given that the financial data actually comes to SOCU from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) within the Ministry of Finance, I have hope that with the proponderance of the evidence that have already been discovered, the Assistant Commissioner will at last be held accountable to the people and the law.
Brutus has since filed a Court action against the GPF, SOCU, the Police Commissioner, the Government and several others, citing several recent actions taken against him as illegal and vindictive. Now, if we were to give Mr. Brutus the benefit of the doubt – as we ought to – we would be left with an $800 million unanswered question. How did a police officer get so rich?
Now, what about these banks? The constitution of Guyana does appear to allow for the formation of two regulatory bodies to oversee the compliance of financial services businesses; The Guyana Compliance Commission Act of 2023 and the 10 member Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Authority. Whether these already exist and are functional, I do not know, but if they are, I would certainly like to see them enter the chat and have these institutions pull up their socks and get truly compliant.
At a recent Press Conference, Vice President Jagdeo assured us that the Government would not protect Brutus and he should expect to face the music, where the charges against him are concerned. I’m trusting that declaration and also hoping that the banks are equally made to answer for their actions. The Vice President’s announcement that no one is above the law is reassuring, and I look forward to seeing it in action.
Sincerely,
Timica Eastman