Special Organized Crime Unit recommends charges against Guyana’s assistant police commissioner

The Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is recommending that “dozens” of charges be filed against Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus. This follows an investigation initiated by SOCU earlier this year into Brutus’s activities.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the GPF noted that while the initial investigation, based on the Director of Public Prosecutions’ advice, did not result in any criminal charges, the current recommendation suggests a change in circumstances.

Brutus had taken leave in July to facilitate the investigation into allegations of financial impropriety. Just a day before his leave, he refrained from commenting on claims that he had deposited GUY$16.5 million into his Police Credit Union account on December 15, 2023. The funds were reportedly returned to him the next day, with the source cited as contributions related to a wedding.

In its statement, the police said based on critical information that SOCU received from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), “a new and more expansive investigation” was conducted by the FIU, which was established under the Anti-Money Laundering Act as an agency responsible for requesting, receiving, analysing and dissemination of suspicious transaction reports and other information relating to money laundering, terrorist financing or proceeds of crime.