“Let it out” – Jagdeo challenges ACP Brutus to reveal alleged secrets on Govt

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has challenged Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Calvin Brutus, who has been slapped with several counts of financial crimes to come forward with whatever secrets and/or evidence he has to expose about those involved.
Brutus is at the centre of a major financial crime investigation which stemmed from the alleged discovery of over $800 million in assets under his control, both in properties and bank accounts shared with his wife, the former Adonika Aulder.
Several months of investigations by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) – the white-collar arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – culminated on Wednesday when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised that the Police go ahead and institute the 240 fraud and money laundering charges against Brutus.
Last week, the senior cop had filed an application in the High Court in which he claimed victimisation, among other things. Brutus told reporters outside his home Wednesday night that all the evidence on why he is being targeted would be revealed when the constitutional motion is heard in the High Court.
Questioned about this during his press conference on Thursday, Vice President Jagdeo declared, “Anything that he has and he wants to let out, let him let it out… I think it’s a form of blackmail. He thinks maybe there will be fear in some quarters of the Government that he could say something that is compromising to us and [the Police] would relent on ensuring that justice is served. He gotta be thinking again, if that’s the case.
“Whatever he has to let out, he could let out. He could say whatever he wants. We have no fear of whatever he wants to say, so let him say it. I will deal with it later. I will deal with it at the appropriate time.”
Brutus had made remarks to that effect on Wednesday evening shortly after members of the Guyana Police Force’s SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team, who had descended on his residence in the Police headquarters compound at Eve Leary, had left.
The senior cop told reporters that he was concerned about the “level of force” displayed.
“I intend to vigorously defend these matters. Because there’s clear evidence that what is happening is a matter of manipulation of evidence, and fabrication of evidence just to make a case against me. I intend to defend all the evidence that is made,” he indicated.
In the High Court documents, Brutus made several claims against the Vice President, who denied them at his press conference on Thursday.
According to Jagdeo, “We will respond to the affidavit… He will have a chance like every other Guyanese, including the ones that he charged as a Policeman, he will have a right in court to defend and present all the evidence that he has in an impartial process to exonerate himself if he’s innocent. He’ll be treated fairly in court.”
At a press conference last week, the Vice President had declared that the Government would not tolerate corruption and would not cover up the misdeeds of persons who may think they are closely affiliated with officials in the Government.
“Let me make it clear… we support the [Guyana] Police Force, we support the leadership of the Police Force, we support them to do their work, but they must comply with the laws of this country. The PPP will not tolerate corruption in the Police Force or anywhere else and when we find corruption in the Police Force or anywhere else, there will be no attempt to cover it up. So, if you believe that you have a special relationship with the Government and that we will, pursuant to that relationship, cover up your misdeeds, you have it wrong. You don’t know the PPP,” Jagdeo had stated.
Moreover, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has also been on record saying that the senior cop would be removed from his position in the Police Force once he is charged.
Brutus told reporters on Wednesday night, “Because of the statements we see made in the press at press conferences and otherwise on social media page, I’m concerned indeed for my safety and family. Yes, I’m concerned about it.”
On Thursday, Brutus, along with his pregnant wife and two others, was charged at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The high-ranking Police Officer was slapped with 30 charges and placed on $6.2 million bail for the charges which range from money laundering to misconduct in public office, among others. He is expected to face the other charges at a later date. (G8)