Court grants SOCU access to Brutus and Nicholson’s bank records

The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has reported that acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty today granted its application to inspect and take copies of the bank accounts of dismissed Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus and contractor Corwin Nicholson.

This was done under Section 12 of the Evidence Act, Cap 5.03, according to a release from SOCU.

On 17 January 2025, SOCU applied for an order to access these bank accounts in order to provide the Court with certified copies of banking documents concerning several criminal offences pending before the courts.

Brutus is charged with 252 counts, while Nicholson is charged with 14 counts of various offences.

Defence Counsel Eusi Anderson and Dominic Bess argued that the Prosecution’s application was a fishing expedition and that the requested documents did not fall within the definition of a “banker’s book” under Section 2 of the Evidence Act, Cap 5.01.

SOCU, however, contended that the requested records were critical to establishing the charges against Brutus and Nicholson and that the banking records were relevant in proving that they received payments for goods that were never delivered to the Guyana Police Force.

The Prosecution, relying on legal authorities, argued that an entry within the meaning of a “banker’s book” was broad enough to include any form of permanent record kept by the bank in its ordinary day-to-day transactions, including electronic documents, and that Section 2 of the Act contemplated electronic data as part of a bank’s records.

In a decisive ruling against the defence lawyers, Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty granted SOCU’s application to access and take copies of Brutus and Nicholson’s bank accounts under the Evidence Act, Cap 5.03.

The Court further directed SOCU to file another banker’s application, including a request for electronic banking documents.