The first of several criminal trials against former Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus got underway on Monday before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
During the proceedings, the prosecution presented documentary evidence relating to businesses allegedly owned by Brutus’s wife, 26-year-old Adonika Alicia Aulder.
Brutus, 46, an attorney-at-law by profession, is facing one count of misconduct in public office, contrary to common law, and 221 counts of liability of official under Section 85 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003.
The charges arise from a Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving more than $800 million within the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
SOCU is an arm of the GPF.
The prosecution alleges that while serving as Assistant Commissioner of Police and performing the functions of Deputy Commissioner (Administration), Brutus abused the authority of his office by creating opportunities for businesses connected to his wife to unlawfully obtain significant sums of money from the State.
It is further alleged that in January 2024, Brutus instructed then Finance Officer of the Guyana Police Force, Senior Superintendent Bharat Persaud, to hand over 221 payment vouchers relating to those businesses. The prosecution contends that the vouchers were never returned to the Police Finance Office.
The prosecution called four witnesses during the opening day of the trial.
The first witness, a Deeds and Commercial Registry clerk, Lashawna Canzius, produced business registration records showing that Triple A Depot is registered in the name of Brutus’s wife, Adonika Alicia Aulder.
She also tendered company records for South Quata Contracting and General Supplies Inc., which is likewise registered to Aulder.
The second witness, Sergeant Lerone Wilkinson, an investigator attached to SOCU, told the court that on September 19, 2024, he visited the Business Names Department of the Commercial Registry, where he obtained the business registration documents for Triple A Depot and South Quata Contracting and General Supplies Inc.
Wilkinson testified that he subsequently returned to SOCU with the documents, where copies were made. The records were later tendered and admitted into evidence as exhibits.
The third witness, Registrar General Raymon Cummings, produced the marriage certificate confirming the marriage of Calvin Brutus and Adonika Alicia Aulder.
The marriage certificate, along with business registration and company records relating to Triple A Depot and South Quata Contracting and General Supplies Inc.—businesses the prosecution alleges are owned by Brutus’s wife—was tendered and admitted into evidence.
The fourth witness, Senior Superintendent Bharat Persaud, the Finance Officer of the GPF, gave evidence on the operations of the Police Finance Office, including its procurement procedures and the system used to prepare, process and store payment vouchers.
Persaud also testified about transactions involving Triple A Depot and South Quata Contracting and General Supplies Inc. and detailed the circumstances under which Brutus allegedly instructed that the 221 payment vouchers linked to those companies be submitted to him.
According to the prosecution, the vouchers were never returned to the Police Finance Office.
Following Persaud’s testimony, Acting Chief Magistrate McGusty adjourned the matter until October 8, 2026, when the trial is scheduled to continue.
The prosecution is being led by Attorney-at-Law Darin Chan alongside Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Natasha Backer.
Brutus is represented by Attorneys-at-Law Yuborn Allicock and Domnick Bess.
The proceedings mark the first of several cases before the Magistrates’ Court arising from SOCU’s 2024 investigation into alleged financial misconduct within the Guyana Police Force.
Authorities have alleged that approximately $300 million is tied to properties and other assets linked to Brutus and his wife.
They also said that a further $500 million remains frozen in bank accounts reportedly associated with Brutus, Aulder, their businesses and their child.
Brutus has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that the funds under scrutiny represent savings accumulated over time, in addition to wedding and holiday gifts from relatives and friends.
He was granted bail totalling more than $16 million, while his co-accused, including his wife, were also released on substantial bail.
Among the conditions attached to their bail are regular reporting requirements to the police and the surrender of travel documents.
Brutus was first charged in October 2024.
