Attorney General (Appellant) v Jonathan Reid and 3 others (Respondents) (Bahamas)
Case ID: JCPC 2021/0095
Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Case summary
Issue
Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing an appeal against the Supreme Court's order discharging a restraint order made pursuant to a request for mutual legal assistance.
Facts
This appeal concerns the discharge of a restraint order dated 20 June 2017 (the "June 2017 Restraint Order") restraining USD$2,079,000 (the "Funds") held in two bank accounts with RBC Royal Bank Bahamas ("RBC" and the "RBC Accounts") by CWI. The Funds were allegedly deposited into the RBC Accounts via cheque deposits drawn on accounts operated by CWI International Investments Limited at Sun Trust Bank in America ("CWI Investments" and "Sun Trust"). These cheque deposits were alleged to have taken place in December 2015 and January 2016. On 1 May 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DoJ") made a request pursuant to a mutual legal assistance treaty between the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United States of America made on 18 August 1987 (the "MLAT Request" and the "MLA Treaty"). The MLAT Request set out the DoJ's grounds for considering that the Funds were the proceeds of a fraud perpetrated on the Boeing Company Boeing Shared Services Group ("Boeing") by Mr Reid and Mr Valdez-Lopez. On 19 June 2017, the AG issued an ex parte originating summons against Mr Reid and Mr Valdez-Lopez seeking the June 2017 Restraint Order, which was granted the following day by Grant Thompson J.
The MLAT Restraint Order was preceded by an earlier restraint order in relation to the Funds, made by Grant-Bethel J on 26 May 2016 (the "May 2016 Restraint Order"). The May 2016 Restraint Order was made in relation to anticipated domestic criminal proceedings concerning the same alleged fraud perpetrated against Boeing. The respondents to the May 2016 Restraint Order included CWI and certain of its officers. They sought a discharge of the order on the basis (inter alia) that the criminal proceedings had not been instituted within a reasonable time frame. The May 2016 Restraint Order was discharged on those grounds on 10 April 2018 by order of Grant-Thompson J.
The June 2017 Restraint Order was also discharged on 19 June 2019 by order of Grant-Thompson J. The judge held that the June 2017 Restraint Order should be discharged because it was based on the very same facts as the May 2016 Restraint Order, thereby constituting a Johnson v. Gore Wood [2002] 2 AC 1 type abuse of process. The AG appealed. On 14 September 2020, the AG sought to join CWI as a respondent (the "Joinder Application"). The Court of Appeal (Isaacs, Jones, and Evans JJA) acceded to the Joinder Application on 10 December 2020.
On 16 March 2021, Mr King and CWI filed a notice of preliminary objection which advanced a number of grounds on which they submitted the AG's appeal should be struck out or dismissed. On 27 May 2021, the Court of Appeal (Isaacs, Jones, and Evans JJA) upheld one of those grounds, namely that the AG had breached his duty of full and frank disclosure in the course of the Joinder Application. In particular, the Court of Appeal found that the AG had failed to draw the Court's attention to the fact that the MLAT Request had stated that CWI Investments' account with Sun Trust had been closed on 23 January 2015 - i.e. almost one year prior to time when the cheque deposit were alleged to have been made from that account to the RBC Accounts. Permission to appeal was refused by the Court of Appeal on 19 July 2021. The AG now seeks leave to appeal from the Judicial Committee.
Parties
Appellant
Attorney General
Respondent
(1) Jonathan Reid, (2) David Valdez-Lopez
(1) Rudolph Kermit King, (2) Celebrating Women International Ltd
Appeal
Justices
Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd Jones, Lord Hamblen, Lady Simler, Lord Stephens
Hearing start date
16 July 2024
Hearing finish date
16 July 2024