Just a few minutes before the British Virgin Islands’ premier was due to appear before an American judge, facing charges of money laundering and cocaine smuggling, a London commission of inquiry published an expedient report asking the UK for direct control of the Caribbean territory.
BVI Premier Andrew Alturo Fahie appeared on Zoom Friday in front of a US Federal Judge. Along with Oleanvine Pickering Maynard (BVI Ports Authority Director), he were arrested in Miami on Thursday. In a US Drug Enforcement Administration claim scheme involving Mexican cartels and Lebanese Hezbollah, they are facing drug trafficking and money laundering accusations.
Just hours before Fahie was due in court, the commission of inquiry led by Judge Sir Gary Hickinbottom published its final report, recommending that London should dissolve the islands’ elected government, suspend their constitution, and impose direct rule.
Successive governments were successful “deliberately sought to avoid good governance by not putting processes in place and where such processes are in place by passing them or ignoring them as and when they wish – which is regrettably often,”Hickinbottom spoke in the report.
Hickinbottom stated that his suggestions came from “with a heavy heart,”But “unless the most urgent and drastic steps are taken, the current situation with the elected government deliberately ignoring the tenets of good governance will go on indefinitely.” He urged Governor General John Rankin to take direct control of the islands’ domestic policy and budgets, set up an advisory body made up of locals, and conduct a year-long constitutional review.
Liz Truss, foreign secretary, said that the report was alarming. “clearly that substantial legislative and constitutional change is required to restore the standards of governance that the people of the BVI are entitled to,”However, they did not announce a direct rule.
Hickinbottom’s commission was established in 2021, amid claims of corruption and wasteful government spending – as well as rumors that the island leadership was engaging in drug trafficking. The Guardian reports that the British government knew about the US investigation and made a decision to investigate. “rush out”Fahie was taken into custody on Thursday with the 1000-page Hickinbottom Report.
According to the affidavit, Fahie Fahie was arrested at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Maynard is also being charged. Maynard’s son Kadeem Stephan Maynard has also been arrested, though it was not made clear when and where.
An affidavit indicates that a DEA informant began meeting with the affidavit. “a group of self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives” on the BVI island of Tortola back in October 2021, which approached Fahie’s security staff and said it “owned”Maynard, Director.
According to police, the informant met Oleanvine, Kadeem Maynard, in March and then with Fahie, on April 7, 2022. They proposed to split the proceeds of any cocaine sold through BVI ports, which would take them to Puerto Rico and the US mainland.
An informant stated that he had offered Fahie 12 percent of the anticipated sale price, which would have been $7.8 million. He also said that he was willing to pay his reelection campaign funding. Fahie requested $500,000 upfront and $83,000 to repay a Senegalese debt.
The affidavit states that the plan was for the test flight to obtain 3,000 kg of cocaine and $700,000.00 in cash. It took place on a private plane at Miami-Opa Locka Airport. Fahie Maynard and Oleanvine Mainard were taken into custody when they arrived to retrieve the cash.
The Virgin Islands were named by Christopher Columbus and are split between the United Kingdom, America, and Puerto Rico. Since 2002, British citizenship has been held by residents of the BVI. Officially, they are one of the British overseas territory.
London had never before imposed direct control on an outlying territory. This was back in 2009 when the Turks and Caicos Islands government was convicted of corruption. In 2012, full local government was reinstated. In 2012, the Turks and Caicos were also under direct control after their chief minister was charged with complicity with drug trafficking.
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