Faris: Is ACIB reporting to AG?

Former Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi says the government has questions to answer over the decision to move the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB) from the TT Police Service to the Office of the Attorney General.

The government made the decision over the weekend amid the gazetted changes to some ministers’ responsibilities.

It was left out of the initial gazette notice and only mentioned in a subsequent erratum which noted the ACIB should have been published as a government department under the AG’s Office.

The ACIB was moved to the TT Police Service's purview in 2019 after calls by Director of Public Prosecution Roger Gaspard and TT Transparency Institute (TTTI) for the change.

Speaking at the Opposition’s media briefing on October 8 in Port of Spain, Al-Rawi reiterated the move was done to eliminate any appearance of political interference in police investigations, especially those involving government ministers.

He explained the ACIB was originally created in 2002 under the AG’s Office to investigate major corruption cases but said the government, in 2019, made changes to its mandate.

“We rescinded the part of the Cabinet decision (Paragraph E) which required the ACIB to report its findings to the AG.

“We did this so that the AG’s office would only provide administrative services to the ACIB like IT, rental space, et cetera. Nothing more.”

Al-Rawi asked if paragraph E of the cabinet note had been “quietly brought back to life.”

“Is the ACIB again reporting to the AG on investigations? That would be unacceptable and contrary to the 2019 Cabinet decision.”

He said the decision was worrying in light of another gazetted change involving the Strategic Services Agency (SSA).

He said the gazetted responsibilities of the SSA, which normally reside with the minister of national security, were recently split.

Al-Rawi questioned whether the split in duties were lawful or if an amendment to the law was required.

“Now, the AG has been given responsibility for intelligence and strategy, while the Minister of Homeland Security holds budget and administration.

“But according to the SSA Act, the minister must be the person to whom national security responsibility is assigned.”

Al Rawi said this move could potentially compromise the ACIB’s independence.

He warned an AG should not have access to criminal investigations.

“If the AG is responsible for ACIB, perhaps in terms of paying for its rental, accommodation, and issuing IDs, that’s acceptable.

“But if they’ve removed the restriction we implemented – which stated that the Attorney General must not be involved in criminal intelligence or investigations – that’s a serious issue.”

Al-Rawi said the move, while seemingly little, carries major implications.

“There is a criminal enterprise operating inside our prison system. And it is highly unusual – unprecedented even – for a Minister of National Security to be removed from oversight of the SSA.”

Gary makes ACIB U-Turn

Meanwhile, former police commissioner Gary Griffith who previously backed the ACIB’s move to the TTPS says he supports its return to the AG’s office.

In a message to Newsday in response to questions about the move, Griffith said the bureau’s move to the TTPS had “backfired.”

“As Police Commissioner, I initially believed that ACIB being placed under the TTPS would have been the best fit to work with other arms of white-collar crime units.

“Unfortunately, this decision backfired and it in fact assisted in having many critical investigations involving politicians being stalled.”

He said the bureau’s move back to the AG’s office was “the only option, to ensure certain investigations can take place and not be sabotaged or stalled, as has been the case for the last few years.”

Griffith said claims the bureau will be immune from political interference while it was under the TTPS were untrue.

Griffith instead argued putting the ACIB under the TTPS led to two negative results.

“It hampered the progress of investigations, and probably deliberately so, as the then government starved the ACIB of funds and resources for them to complete their investigations.

“There became an obvious and blatant interference, if not sabotage, of certain investigations involving politicians.”

Griffith added this latest move may leave some politicians “quaking in their boots” as he alleged there are police officers with political friends.

“It was obvious that there were police officers in certain white-collar crime units who were doing all possible to stall certain investigations.

“Now, with it returning to the AG's office, that ‘get out of jail free’ card that some politicians had hoped for, using their police support staff, may now be thankfully lost, and justice can take its natural course.”

Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro on October 6, backed his officers saying its move will not affect the hunt for corruption.

Although he noted the ACIB’s relocation is a matter outside the TTPS’s purview, he maintained his officers remain committed to supporting all national anti-corruption efforts.

“As always, we stay focused on our mandate of hunting criminals and it doesn’t matter where the camp of the ACIB is located, as I have all faith and trust in the ability of the officers located in that department, to continue the hunt for corruption.”