FIU goes after companies in U.S. scam

Belize Supreme Court building

Wednesday, October 22, 2014. AARON HUMES Reporting: The saga of Titan International Securities and its related partners has been ongoing in the courts of Belize for a few months now.

Prior to yesterday much of it had centered on the fate of Bahamian executives for Titan Kelvin Leach and Rohn Knowles who made bail after being picked up on unrelated charges.

At the heart of the case is an allegation of fraud against the U.S. Government in the State of New York to the tune of $1 billion, and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which deals with financial and cyber crimes, has been tasked to go after the assets of those involved.

On Tuesday there was an inter-parties hearing before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin in chambers at the Supreme Court.

Rohn Knowles & Kelvin Leach

Senior Counsel Michael Young, who represents one of the affected companies, Unicorn Securities International, LLC told reporters that Tuesday’s hearing concerned “housekeeping” on challenges to several freezing orders in effect against the respondents.

Of the six persons accused of involvement only American Robert Bandfield and Knowles and Leach have gone before any court.

There is a Belizean, Andrew Godfrey, who has been implicated, and today we heard from his attorney for the first time.

She is none other than former director of the FIU, Marilyn Williams. But she did not have much to say, not even to the question of the status of the investigation, which she laid at the feet of her former employers.

Neither Young nor Williams would say whether the banks in which the frozen monies are kept are being investigated, nor what amounts are involved. The case returns to court on October 27.

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