The Financial Investigations Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service successfully forfeited from an alleged terrorist cash in the amount of J$524,000.00 and Sterling £1,850.00 today, Friday 7th August 2020 in the St. Catherine Parish Court.
The money was seized by the police in 2017 under Jamaica’s Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) during the arrest of Sheik Abdullah El Faisal. This follows a search of his home address in furtherance of an extradition warrant on behalf of the US Government, which alleges his involvement in terrorism offences.
Investigations were conducted by the FID in relation to the origin and intended use of the cash and an application for its forfeiture was made to the court.
The matter was contested and a trial was held. El Faisal represented himself whilst attorneys from FID represented the Crown.
After hearing the evidence, her Honour Ms. A. McIntosh, Parish Court Judge, ordered the money to be forfeited to the Crown.
This follows on the heels of the recent Court of Appeal judgement which upheld the application for El Faisal to be extradited to the US to stand trial.
Chief Technical Director of the FID, Selvin Hay asserted: “This forfeiture highlights the commitment of FID and its partners, in this instance the JCF, to robustly apply the Proceeds of Crime Legislation where appropriate in conjunction with any investigation being conducted. The majority of criminal and indeed civil investigations being conducted across Jamaica inevitably involve profit, and this profit can and will be taken from those persons who are concerned in any way. The public needs to understand, that there are a large number of offences committed under POCA. Not just by the person initially committing crime but by any person who knowingly assists either before, during or after the fact and FID and wider law enforcement will leave no stone unturned in the effort to deter persons from committing and profiting from crime.”
