WHY BVI PM FAHIE CANNOT ASSERT ENTRAPMENT AS A DEFENCE

If you read my recent article discussing the Open Letter that arrested British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie sent to his constituents from prison, (Charged with Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering, Arrested BVI Premier Claims he was framed by UK and US, May 1, 2022) you know that he claims he was the victim of Entrapment which, if proven, can be an absolute defense to the charges pending against him.

Unfortunately for the Premier, Entrapment is not available to him, based upon the facts of his case, and his prior history. While Entrapment operates as a complete defender to a criminal charge, on the theory  that "Government agents may not originate a criminal design, implant in an innocent person's mind the disposition to commit a criminal act, and then induce commission of the crime, so that the Government may prosecute,"  according to the United States Supreme Court, the elements of Entrapment are not present.

The High Court has also held that a valid Entrapment defense has two elements: (1) Government's inducement of the crime, and (2) The defendant's lack of predisposition to engage in criminal conduct. A fair reading of the Affidavit filed in the case confirms that Fahie fails to qualify on both elements.

Even, arguendo, if Fahie's attorneys can persuade a jury that he was indeed induced to commit these crimes, his predisposition to engage in illegal activities is fatal to an entrapment defense. Not only will the Government be able to introduce his prior bad acts into evidence, as Uncharged Criminal Conduct under Rule 404 Fed. R. Crim. P., he was the subject of a BVI MLAT application, made to the Western District Court in North Carolina, in 2003,  relating to corruption and money laundering in the US, by the Royal Virgin Islands Police and the territory's Attorney General. In Re Request from the British Virgin Islands etc.,  Case No: 303-MC-118-MV (WDNC). He's not exactly a law-abiding citizen.

Our coverage of the issues in the Premier's Miami case shall continue; stay tuned.