Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Capital Bank International-now in Receivership, Finton De Bourg has been placed on one million dollars bail by acting Chief Magistrate Jerry Seales on Monday after some four charges of Fraudulent breach of Trust was slapped on him by the Court.
Represented in Court by a team of lawyers headed by Cajeton Hood and including Sandy and Marlon Glean, the CEO elegantly attired as per usual, calmly emerged from the prisoners’ holding area to make his first public appearance in four days since taken into police custody.
The option of putting a plea of guilty or not guilty was not afforded Mr. De Bourg since charges laid against him were indictable and therefore the CEO stood attentively as the Magistrate read the charges to him.
In charge number one, De Bourg was accused of fraudulently converting 17 million dollars for his personal use, and this, the charge claimed allegedly occurred between May 1 st 2004 and August 15 th 2008.
In the second charge allegedly occurred between 3 rd October 2002 and 10 th March 2004 De Bourg was accused of fraudulently converting for his personal use the sum of $960,000.00.
In the third charge, the CEO was accused of fraudulently converting for his own personal use the sum of $197, 02.60 between 24 th June 2006 and 3 rd November 2006, and the final charge allegedly taking place around the 15 th November 2006 when a sum of $70 was allegedly converted for personal use.
According to the charges read, a total of $18,227,902.60 (Eighteen million two hundred and twenty-seven thousand, nine hundred and two dollars and sixty cents) were allegedly fraudulently consumed by the CEO.
Moments after those charges were read, the Prosecution made it clear that they had no intention to opposed bail.
Nevertheless, head of the Prosecution team -Inspector Curwen, asked that special condition be applied should the Court be so minded to grant bail.
Leading Defense Council, Hood, speaking on his client’s behalf, reminded the Court that acting in his client’s favour is a presumption of innocent and therefore he has a right to bail.
In addition Hood urged on the Court to take into consideration that his client is a Businessman who would, from time to time, be meeting with clients internationally and regionally to conduct business.
Most importantly, he said, the fact that his client is not know to the law to have had a charge in his fifty seven years being a Grenadian should be easily reached when needed by the Court, and therefore does not required and stringent conditions.
This theory, however was not taken into consideration by the Magistrate and Mr. De Bourg was placed on one million dollars bail.
The Magistrate went on to say that from that one million, one hundred thousand must be in cash and nine hundred thousand are to be secured by two sureties.
In addition De Bourg is strictly forbidden from leaving the State and he must report to the St. Paul’s Police Station every Tuesday and Thursday between the hours of 9:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m and have no contact with any of the witnesses in the case.
The CEO faces a maximum jail term of twenty years if found guilty on all four charges.
De Bourg makes a second Court appearance on July 7 th 2007.
Meanwhile, lead Council for the CEO, Cajeton Hood, speaking to reporters after Monday’s sitting, said he thinks that the Magistrate was way to harsh in the kind of bail set to Mr. De Bourg.
Hood is also of the view that the authority went the wrong way in trying the resolve the problem in which Capital Bank has found itself.
Placing the CEO in prison or even charging him would make it harder for depositors to recover their monies.
The Lawyer is of the view that the authority should have allowed the CEO to function, work along with him and ensure that depositors recover their monies. With the present course of action Hood asked where would these monies come from now?
Bail was posted late on Monday and Mr. De Bourg was release in the care of his daughter and friends from the St. Paul’s Police Station.
Addressing hundreds of Party supporters at an NNP endorsement meeting in Victoria St Mark on Sunday Prime Minister Dr. Hon Keith Mitchell said he would be seeking permission from the Court as of this week so that depositors having five hundred dollars and less can be repaid as a first step towards finding a solution to the problem now faced by the Bank.
As to why the Prime Minister chose depositors with accounts of $500.00 and less and where the moneys for the payments to these depositors will come from the Prime Minister did not elaborate, but he indicated that the total sum would be less than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000.00).
Meanwhile speculations continue as to the rationale for the Prime Minister’s direct involvement in the Cap-Bank issue and why he chose the Party political rally to make the announcement. It is further speculated that before the dust is settled same prominent people in the Cap-Bank saga could find themselves drawn into the scandal
