TT Police writes to Fifa
Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday
By Nalinee Seelal
Tuesday, June 14 2011
Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs yesterday kept good on his promise and wrote to FIFA to solicit information regarding allegations that undeclared sums of monies, namely US currency, entered Trinidad and Tobago sometime in May.
The letter was written early yesterday on behalf of the Commissioner, and was expected to be sent to FIFA by mid-afternoon.
The letter was written to FIFA following a call by Leader of the Opposition, Dr Keith Rowley, for the police to probe allegations that large sums of US monies came into this country to be used for bribery purposes.
On Friday last, the police service said Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs was not guilty of dereliction of duty for not initiating a probe into allegations of bribery levelled against FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner. The declaration was part of a statement issued by the police service on Friday in response to calls for a police investigation into reports that an alleged sum of US$1 million was distributed to participants at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Port-of- Spain, and these monies may have been improperly imported into the country.
As part of its response to those calls, the police said it would write FIFA to find out whether it had information which it could use to begin any investigation or investigations as to whether any alleged criminal activity took place in this country.
Last Friday in its statement, which was issued by its public affairs unit, the police service said: “Please be informed that there is no dereliction of duty by the Commissioner of Police. The public is hereby advised to date, there has been no official report made by any member of the society, neither has there been any official of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) with regards to any alleged criminal conduct offered within Trinidad and Tobago by any named individual, or individuals into any alleged criminal conduct based on reports carried by the media. In these circumstances it is impracticable to commence any criminal investigation into any alleged criminal conduct, based on reports carried by the media.”
The police statement further revealed, “With respect to the alleged US$1 million, the Comptroller of Customs has jurisdiction over this matter as the Exchange Control (Import and Export) Order and the Exchange Control Act provides Customs with the authority.”
Up to yesterday the Customs and Excise had not initiated any probe on this matter.
Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner was suspended last month as FIFA vice-president by FIFA’s ethics committee after bribery allegations were levelled against him in relation to that meeting with CFU officials in Port-of-Spain. Asia Football Confederation president Mohammed bin Hamman, who also attended that meeting, was suspended on the same grounds as Warner.
However the police said, “it is our intention to write to FIFA requesting information which they may have in their possession which may afford us the opportunity of commencing any investigation/s into any alleged criminal
This was the police service’s response to calls that it investigate reports that allege that US$1 million were distributed to participants at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Port-of- Spain and these monies may have been improperly imported into the country.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said police officers have an obligation to investigate a crime if they have “reasonable cause to suspect that a crime has been, is being or may have been committed.” Rowley made this observation yesterday, 24 hours after he gave upon Commissioner of Police (CoP) Dwayne Gibbs five days to review and reverse his decision that the police will not investigate information which alleges that five days to review and reverse his decision that the police will not investigate information which alleges that US$1 million were distributed to participants at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Port-of-Spain and these monies may have been improperly imported into the country. Rowley said if this does not happen, the Opposition will refer the matter to the Police Service Commission.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Opposition Leader’s Office, Rowley said: “Under our Police Service Act, the first duty of a police officer is to preserve the peace and detect crime and other breaches of the law. In short, therefore at common law and under statute, the police are under a duty to the public to investigate crimes.”
Rowley explained that this duty is one in which officers necessarily have a discretion as to how much resources to devote to any particular investigation and whether to investigate it at all. Noting that this was supported by the Privy Council case of R v CoP of the Metropolis Ex p Blackburn (1968) 2 QB 118, Rowley said police officers can decide not to not to investigate or “expend resources on an investigation” if they determine that the information received is unreliable, frivolous or tenuous.
“However once an officer has reasonable cause to suspect that a crime has been, is being or may be committed, then certainly the obligation to the public to investigate arises. Failure to investigate in such a case must be for good reason and it is difficult to see what such good reason would be,” Rowley declared. He added that the decision of the police not to investigate, “must be exercised transparently, in good faith and must rational having regard to all the circumstances.”
Rowley maintained that the police’s position not to investigate this matter appears to be unjustified, given the sustained plethora of news reports in the international, regional and local media about an alleged incident of bribery which took place on the shores of TT, supported by eye witness accounts, digital photos of bundles of money and a FIFA ethics committee report that there is a case to answer.
Rowley said there could be possible breaches of Section Four of the Prevention of Corruption Act which deals with bribery of agents in the private sector; the Exchange Control Act and the Customs Act. Stating that whether or not there is sufficient evidence obtained in the course of an investigation in this matter to charge anyone was another question and not the question being dealt with here, Rowley said: ‘The question is, are the police under an obligation to investigate a case such as this.”
“The suggestion that a lack of official report or complaint means that the police cannot investigate is so ludicrous that it is bordering on dereliction of duty,” Rowley stated. He added that the police have started investigations based on media reports and the Opposition has made “a formal citizen complaint in writing.”