Cayman Islands Government representatives met Thursday morning with US Department of Justice officials to discuss the status of some 17 cases on which the two countries are cooperating under the terms of the Cayman Islands Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United States.
In this annual meeting, which continued Friday, the two parties shared the status of legal proceedings in both territories with respect to ongoing cases, discuss issues from the perspective of the laws in each country, and generally ensure that each does nothing to undermine the effectiveness of the workings of the MLAT on either side, states a GIS press release.
The Cayman Islands Government and the United States has successfully prosecuted some 230 cases since the MLAT was introduced 15 years ago.
The Cayman Islands delegation led by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, the Central Authority of the MLAT, was accompanied by Attorney General Samuel Bulgin and Crown Counsel Suzanne Look Loy. Ms Look Loy is a member of the team of lawyers at the CI Legal Department who assists with MLAT matters.
Attending on the US side were Deputy Director of the Office of International Affairs, Mr. Richard Owen; Associate Director Lystra Blake, and senior attorney Mary McClaren.
During deliberations the Director of the US Office of International Affairs (Criminal Division), a part of the Justice Department, Ms Molly Warlow, dropped in with a word of welcome, saying that she was glad that proceedings were going so well and that Cayman was being recognised for its efforts.
Later that afternoon the US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales underscored the importance of cooperation from countries in the fight against crime during a ceremony attended by Chief Justice Smellie, Attorney General Bulgin, and a room full of Justice Department officials. Mr. Gonzales said that the funds forfeited and the cheques exchanged by both jurisdictions under their asset-sharing agreement were “good evidence of global cooperation.”
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