ONDCP loses claim: Court rules that over $170k seized during search of bodybuilder’s home must be returned to him

The Police Force will have to return over $170,000 to national
bodybuilder Kenroy Christian – money seized while executing a
search warrant at his residence on June 15, 2022.

Reports say the Police had suspected Christian of being involved in
drug and firearm activities. But while he was detained and
questioned, the national athlete was never charged with a criminal
offence.

Despite this, reports claim that the Office of National Drug Control
and Money Laundering Prevention (ONDCP) wanted to keep the
EC$172,736.65 found in Christian’s possession. A minuscule sum of
.95 cents in United States currency was also found.
 
The money had been seized and subjected to further investigation
by the Proceeds of Crime Unit.

Then, on June 22, 2022, an application was made to authorize the
continued detention of the funds under Section 18(A)(1) of
the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, 1996. The law was amended
to allow for a detention period of six months.

The initial application was granted by the magistrate who had initial
conduct of the case, and the continued detention order went into
effect until December 22, 2022. Subsequently, another application
was made on December 19, 2022, and was granted until June 19,
2023.
 
Following this, an application was made by Christian, through his
attorney, on February 16, 2023, for the monies to be returned to
him, since he had not been charged up to that time.
 

However, yet another application for continued detention was made
at the end of June that year, with an application for forfeiture to the
State filed on September 22, 2023.
 
The first forfeiture-application hearing was held on January 16,
2024, and the Court was asked to consider several issues. These
included whether the continued detention order had expired before
the filing for forfeiture last September and whether a continued
detention application could be heard ex-parte.
 
However, after hearing and reading legal submissions by the ONDCP
– the supervisory body and applicant – and by attorney Wendel
Alexander, who represented Christian, Magistrate Dane Hamilton Jr.
ruled in favour of Christian, thereby dismissing the application for
forfeiture and ordering that the monies be returned to Christian.
 
Hamilton also ruled that the continued detention order had expired
on June 19, 2023. Therefore, since no monies were being lawfully
detained at that time, the application for forfeiture filed on
September 22, 2023, was dismissed.
 
This ruling means that, instead of the money finding its way into the
Consolidated Fund, the bodybuilder will be getting back every dollar
that was confiscated.