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A report submitted to the SCC in respect of the largest and most serious case involving conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering ever conducted by the Bermuda Police force  'didn't ring any bells with Mr Gurney' but subsequently is located.  Is it any wonder a member of the FBI labelled the SCC enquiry a 'whitewash'?

Gurney to investigate claims

Deputy Governor, Tim Gurney is to probe claims that last year’s Serious Crimes Commission ignored a plea to look at a collapsed money laundering case.

The 1990s investigation into drug trafficking involved a local lawyer, several local and international companies and organisation and death row inmates.

Local authorities worked with America’s Drug Enforcement Agency and Interpol on the case which was then dropped.

But, according to a report in the Mid Ocean News, a retired police officer is asking whey the Serious Crimes Commission did not find out the reasons for this – and he said he never got a response to his written submission about the case.

He said the case was the largest and most serious case involving conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering ever conducted by the Bermuda Police force.

The officer said members of the drug trafficking gang at the centre of the collapsed probe were now on death row in America.  And he claimed on the reasons the investigation was dropped was because it was getting to close to highly placed people in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.

The officer said Bermuda had been keen not to attract the attention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which was putting together a list of harmful tax havens and the Financial Action Task Force which was compiling a list of places not co-operative to fighting money laundering.

The Serious Crimes Commission was set up last year partly in response to anger over the mishandling of the Rebecca Middleton murder case.

Its terms of reference said it should look at the prosecution of serious crimes, evidence gathering and the administration of justice. Yesterday Mr Gurney told The Royal Gazette “We will be looking into it but it didn’t ring any bells.”

“Given the composition of the Serious Crimes Commission which included a former very senior British officer, I can’t help but feel if they had discovered a case they thought was important they would have brought it to the attention to the authorities.”

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