Probe into missing $21k in confiscated funds appears to be going nowhere, although prosecutor is back on island, sources complain

The female prosecutor on whose watch over $21,000 in confiscated
money went missing is reportedly back on island, but the investigation
into its disappearance appears to be going nowhere, sources say.
 
In August, REAL News reported that the Police had launched an internal
investigation into the disappearance of these funds, which allegedly
had been confiscated from a businessman because officers believed the
money had been acquired illegally.
 
That person is now defending a forfeiture case in the All Saints
Magistrates Court and must prove that the money was obtained legally
and was not the proceeds of crime.
 
However, the case is likely to be dismissed, sources say, since the
investigating officer could not produce the EC$18,000 and US$1,500
that had been taken from the accused.

In the flurry of accusations that followed, fingers were pointed even at
a prosecutor who reportedly had had nothing to do with the case.
 
Allegedly, the investigator had left the money in the care of the
prosecutor after a previous court outing, instead of signing it back into
custody.
 
That prosecutor had been off island for some time, but is now said to
have returned to duty; however, the investigation seems to have been
halted.
 
Police sources say this incident, very likely, will be one of those cases
that are swept under the carpet because of the prosecutor’s affiliation
with a senior-ranking officer.
 
The sources expect that it will be left to the taxpayers to repay the
missing sum – since, if the case is thrown out, the money will have to
be returned to the businessman.
 
Reportedly, the magistrate presiding over the trial has threatened to
throw out the case already.
 
In the meantime, observers are asking why it is taking this long to
pinpoint who last had custody of the money and have that person take
responsibility for it. They say it should not be that difficult, since both
the investigator and the prosecutor allegedly had custody of the money
at some point.