A week ago in open court – Derek Courtenay, the attorney for First Caribbean International Bank accused Prime Minister Dean Barrow of misstating the facts about government and the banks reaching an out of court settlement regarding the money laundering charges. Courtenay told Senior Magistrate Dorothy Flowers he had no knowledge of any agreement being worked out between the bank and government.
He was speaking in court after attorney for the Financial Intelligence Unit Marilyn Williams asked Magistrate Flowers to withdraw money laundering charges because an agreement had been reached between the two parties. Courtenay balked at that notion, adamantly proclaiming there was no out of court discussion – and if there was, it would be inappropriate for it to influence criminal proceedings. His assertion flew in the face of what Prime Minister Dean Barrow told the House two weeks earlier when he announced the charges against Belize Bank and First Caribbean Bank were being withdrawn. So Courtenay basically implied that Prime Minister Dean Barrow mis-spoke.
And though it took a week, government has fired back. A release today from the Attorney General's Ministry says not only were there out of court discussions between the Government and the bank – but that Derek Courtenay was right there when those talks were held. The release says discussions were held with the FIU's lawyer Marilyn Williams, Central Bank Governor Sydney Campbell, Managing Director of the Belize Bank, First Caribbean's Regional Manager, his legal advisor in Barbados, and the bank's local attornies – senior counsels Derek Courtenay and Ellis Arnold.
Courtenay didn't return our calls today. In fact, his secretary told us, don't expect a call back.
