Dressed in his uniform, Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus marched up the stairs of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court this afternoon to face 240 charges related to various financial crimes.

After more than two hours before the Acting Chief Magistrate, Faith McGusty, only 30 of the charges had been read to him, and he was granted a total of $6.2 Million bail on those charges, with the Magistrate indicating that the remaining charges will have to be read to him at a later date.

As part of the bail agreement, the Assistant Police Commissioner will have to lodge his passport and report to SOCU once every month throughout the case. The Prosecutors had objected to bail, but the Magistrate proceeded to grant bail on the charges read out today.

The charges read to Mr. Brutus today range from fraud and larceny to money laundering and misconduct in public office.

All of the charges stemmed from a three-month long investigation conducted by the Police Force’s Special Organised Crime Unit.

The Assistant Commissioner was not required to enter a plea to the charges and offered no comments during his way in and out of the Courtroom this afternoon.

Also appearing in Court today to face conspiracy charges were the Assistant Commissioner’s wife, Audonika Aulder, his former driver Kevin George and Garden of Eden businessman, Ashraf Zafarally. They were each granted bail in the sum of $1 million for the charges that were read against them.

They are facing charges in relation to the payment for the supply of goods to the Guyana Police Force’s Consumers Good Complex and the alleged non-supply of the goods.

The Attorneys for the businessman, Glenn Hannoman and Everton Singh-Lammy, told the Court that the businessman is still open to settling the matters against him and has been cooperative with SOCU. The Attorneys explained that he is currently finding it difficult to provide for his family since his bank accounts were also frozen by the High Court as part of the probe.

The pregnant wife of the Assistant Commissioner is facing the conspiracy and money laundering charges. She remained silent throughout her appearance at the Courthouse.

Her bank accounts and the bank accounts of her businesses were also frozen by the High Court. Those accounts contained more than $300 million.

SOCU has said that the wife’s companies were used to supply goods for the Police Force, but in many instances, it is alleged that the goods that were procured were never delivered even after full payments were made, and it was documented as if the goods had been delivered.

In the case of the former driver of the Assistant Commissioner, Kevin George who is also a Policeman, it is alleged that he was involved in the movement of money through accounts bearing his name. He is facing multiple money laundering charges in addition to larceny charges and misconduct by a public official charge. He is being represented by Attorneys Yuborn Allicock, Earl Daniels, Eusi Anderson, Renea Marcus and Casside Nurse and Dominic Bess, who are the Attorneys also on record for Mr. Brutus and his wife.

The charges were filed against the four today based on the investigations of the Special Organised Crime Unit. That investigation initially focused on entries into the Credit Union accounts of the Assistant Police Commissioner. However, after SOCU received additional information from the Financial Intelligence Unit, it expanded its probe and uncovered the multiple accounts linked to the Assistant Commissioner, his wife, their toddler son and three companies registered to them. Those accounts were found with $500 million and the SOCU probe also uncovered large withdrawals in recent months and the purchase of properties. Eight of the nine accounts were frozen by the Court.

Mr. Brutus has maintained his innocence.

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