British Virgin Islands premier Andrew Fahie has been granted a $500,000 bond by a Miami federal judge on Wednesday, at a pre-trial detention hearing for the charges of drug trafficking and money laundering levelled against him.
According to an Associated Press report Wednesday afternoon, federal court Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes rejected the prosecution’s arguments that the premier could flee the US and possibly engage in criminal activity if he is freed.
She stipulated he could stay in Miami, confined to the home rented by his two daughters and wearing an ankle bracelet. He and his family are also required to surrender their passports, in addition to paying the bond.
According to the AP, Assistant US Attorney Frederic Shadley has said the government would appeal the decision, “meaning it’s unclear when and if Fahie would be released”.
Meanwhile, acting BVI Premier Natalio Wheatley, in a televised address on Wednesday, denied issuing a letter under the Premier’s Office letterhead endorsing Fahie’s diplomatic immunity.
He said neither him, nor the Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office, Dr. Carolyn O’Neal-Morton, were aware of the correspondence dated 3 May and stamped by the International Affairs Secretariat.
“It appears that the preparation and sending out of the correspondence were the actions of a rogue Public Officer who acted without the authorization or the knowledge of myself as Acting Premier or the Permanent Secretary. The content of this letter regarding diplomatic immunity for Honourable Fahie does not reflect the position of the Premier’s Office or the Government of the Virgin Islands,” he said in his address.
He said an investigation has been launched into who issued the letter.
Original story:
US District Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez has rejected an attempt by British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie to invoke diplomatic immunity in his drugs and money-laundering case.
The premier is set for another appearance in a Miami court Wednesday for a pre-trial detention hearing, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for 13 May.
Gonzalez, who on Tuesday filed his response to Fahie’s notice of immunity, said the premier is not entitled to head-of-state or government immunity, and his notice concerning immunity had no legal effect, according to court documents.
US does not recognise BVI as a sovereign state
While he agreed that Fahie’s title is head of state, Gonzalez argued that description does not equate to head-of-state immunity.
“The Executive Branch of the United States Government does not recognize the British Virgin Islands as a sovereign state, or that Fahie is entitled to any immunity from this prosecution. Accordingly, the Defendant does not and cannot enjoy immunity as a head of state or government,” he wrote in his response.
On Monday, Fahie, through his attorneys, invoked immunity rights under international and domestic law as the elected and sitting head of government of the British Overseas Territory and is seeking his immediate release from a US jail.
In his response, the US District Attorney said that Fahie conspired to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the US, and then launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds.
“He accepted thousands of dollars in bribes and planned to accept even more,” he said, pointing to the allegations levelled against the BVI premier.
He argued that the Fahie’s ‘notice’ did nothing to establish an entitlement to immunity.
“In fact, that ‘Notice’ has no legal effect at all,” he added.
Citing the governing precedent from US vs. General Manuel Antonio Noriega from 1997, Gonzalez contended that Fahie was not entitled to head-of-state or government immunity.
Former Panamanian dictator Noriega failed in attempts to declare diplomatic immunity when indicted on drug trafficking and money laundering charges by a US grand jury in 1988. He was eventually extradited to the US, convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Fahie was arrested on 28 April at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in an undercover sting after the US Drug Enforcement Agency alleged he agreed to ensure the safe passage of cocaine shipments through BVI.
The BVI premier was charged with one count of conspiracy to import more than five kilos of cocaine and one count of conspiracy to launder money.
BVI Port Managing Director Oleanvine Maynard and her son Kadeem were also arrested in that sting operation, and were jointly charged with Fahie.
Meanwhile, there are attempts in BVI for Fahie to be replaced by Natalio D. Wheatley as acting premier, as talks on UK direct rule with UK Overseas Territories Minister Amanda Milling get under way.
BVI residents have been protesting against direct rule of the British Overseas Territory, according to media reports out of BVI.
A commission of inquiry into corruption allegations in the BVI government recommended UK direct rule for two years after finding widespread corruption in almost all sectors.
However, Wheatley has rejected direct rule as an option for BVI, saying it was “unacceptable” and a backward step.
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