The Magistrates' Court has ruled that Bahamian securities traders Rohn Knowles and Kelvin Leach were stopped prematurely by police who were trying to
stop them from leaving the country. Local Law enforcement were cooperating with agents of the US Government who were trying to prevent both men from
going back to their home country. They have been indicted on grand jury charges in the US for securities fraud in which it was alleged that they
participated with 4 others in defrauding the US Government of a billion dollars in tax revenues.
Viewers may remember that on September 12, of last year both men tried to leave the country on a chartered flight, and when they went to check in at
the Phillip Goldson International Airport, police detained them. That was around the time when an extradition request was being prepared, but hadn't
come as yet. So, both men were charged with failing to declare funds over 10 thousand dollars while leaving the country. Informed observers concluded
that this was a holding charge to stop the men from leaving while the formal documents for extradition requests were being finalized.
Since then, the men have been fighting their case in the Magistrate's Court, and as we've reported, the Financial Intelligence Unit's case has been
steadily falling apart. They were unable to get the money that the men allegedly had in their possession at the time admitted into evidence against
them. After 12 witnesses were called, their attorney, Godfrey Smith, made a no-case submission on their behalf, asserting that the prosecution failed
to establish a case against them.
Today, Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer delivered her judgment in which she ruled that the men did not commit the crime of failing to declare because
the police who intercepted them, acted prematurely. The men didn't clear all the immigration checkpoints as yet, so they did not break the financial
laws at the time they were detained.
So, the charges were struck out, and 7News was there to get a reaction from their attorney. Here's what he had to tell us:
Godfrey Smith, SC - Attorney for the Defendants
"In truth it wasn't a complex decision in my view nor a complex case, although it was a drawn out case with over 12 witnesses. But at the end of the
day as the judge rightly pointed out, the whole case turned on whether the gentlemen were guilty of failing to declare sums in excess of 10,000
dollars. The prosecutions own witness said, that you're deemed to commit the offence after you've cleared all the official checkpoints - namely airport
authorities' counter and immigration counter. If after that you don't declare, then you've committed the offence. And this wasn't the case. The judge
rightly pointed out it was entirely premature."
So, now that Knowles and Leach have managed to get past this hurdle, they must now fight the extradition request which was finalized in the time they
were fighting the failure to declare charge in the Magistrate's Court. How will they do that? Well, their attorney says that just in the same way that
the local police made errors with the interception at the airport, he asserts that police made critical errors in gathering evidence for the
extradition hearing. He told us that the defence against the extradition request will start from that point when that day in court comes:
Godfrey Smith
"The real story here - this was a fore gone conclusion the result of this case. The real story here is that the state has acted in an extremely
oppressive manner in relation to these people. You will recall around September 9th, there about of last year; Police swooped down on these gentlemen's
office, seized all their documents, froze all their accounts, and eventually detained them in prison. What has happened since, first of all, the courts
have found that their detention was completely without authority - so they have been unlawfully remanded and detained at Hattieville prison. Secondly,
that their monies were unconstitutionally and unlawfully frozen. Thirdly, that their documents and all their documents for their clients were
unlawfully seized and had to be returned. I say that to say this, that damaged loom very large in this case because of all of this. These gentlemen
business has been shut down completely - and the court has found unlawfully and wrongly so. So having gotten over this final stage, the extradition
request has been made and is pending before the court. But this is what I have to say, that extradition request is based on information put together
unlawfully, illegally, after they have illegally seized the documents and all the computers. Had it in excess of 2 and 3 months and use that
information to create an extradition request, to form the basis of an extradition request. That might be permissible in the United States, from which
this entire operation is being directed, it is not permissible under the common law system. You cannot use unlawfully, illegally obtain evidence to
form the basis of charges you're going to bring against anybody for extradition. So we intend to attack this at the very root at the very first
opportunity."
Daniel Ortiz
"The observation has been that this was just a holding charge to make sure that your clients can't leave the country - even though this case fell a
part. Is it a correct view that the Belizean authorities acted to assist and they did assist by bringing this charge?"
Godfrey Smith
"That is my uncompromising view."
3 days before, ADU personnel cleaned out the offices of Titan Securities International of every single document.
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