Police probe FCB, 10 other firms over Cummings' dealings

THE police have asked the law courts for information from FCB Bank and ten other entities, as they probe payments to companies formerly linked to Minister of Youth Development and National Service Foster Cummings. The police filed production court orders (PCOs) for 11 entities, including the formerly Cummings-linked companies of Cummings and Associated Ltd, Pical Services Ltd and Rivulet Investment Group Ltd.

On Thursday, the UNC sent media houses a statement calling for the axing of Cummings, plus a four-page letter which the UNC said was issued by the police, and which detailed the PCOs.

The letter was a police request (perhaps to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions) for the use of a senior counsel in a court action (POC 71/2021) brought by the Pical, Rivulet and Cummings companies against WPC Mieve Harewood of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the police. The action sought pre-trial disclosure of PCO-linked documents.

In support of this request, the letter gave a timeline the internal procedures of the police and court in handling the matter.

The letter named 11 entities specified in production orders which a law court had granted to WPC Harewood

On July 9, 2021 PCOs were served on Pical Services Ltd, Housing Development Corporation (HDC), MTS, FCB Bank Ltd, RBC Bank, Venture Credit Union and JMMB Bank. On July 13, PCOs were served on the Board of Inland Revenue, Republic Bank Ltd, Cummings and Associates, and Rivulet Investment Group Ltd.

The letter related that on January 12, 2021 the police Anti Corruption Investigation Bureau got a report from the Financial Investigations Branch (FIB) regarding suspicious financial activity.

"The said report alleged that the account of Mr Foster Cummings held at Venture Credit Union was credited with $4,411,464.

"The said funds represented payment for the works carried out by Pical Services Ltd, Cummings and Associates and Rivulet Investment Group Ltd."

Harewood was appointed to investigate and she applied for PCOs and was subsequently granted 11 orders, which were served on 11 entities.

On July 14, 2021, attorney Keith Scotland requested a pre-trial disclosure of the affidavits and applications for the PCOs within 24 hours. The same day, Harewood was told that an inter partes ("between parties") hearing has been scheduled for the next day in relation to the Pical, Rivulet and Cummings and Associates companies, noting Harewood's application had been ex parte ("on behalf of one party").

For the applicants, Gilbert Peterson SC, Scotland and other attorneys made submissions, after which Justice Waterman-Latchoo suspended the orders pending further ventilation and determination of the application. The police letter said this matter was "a watershed moment for white-collar investigations," with the potential to undo almost all matters (past, present and future) which rely heavily on evidence gathered by production orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act.