MINOR DEFENDANT IN FORMER BVI PREMIER ANDREW FAHIE'S MONEY LAUNDERING AND DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE SENTENCED TO 57 MONTHS

KADEEM MAYNARD, a lesser codefendant of cashiered British Virgin Islands Premier ANDREW FAHIE, was sentenced this week to just under five years in Federal Prison, after changing his plea to guilty, in a case that has shaken up the small British Overseas Territory, known for selling opaque companies around the world to purchasers interested in concealing their beneficial ownership of a corporate entity from law enforcement, the taxman, or both. Maynard, who pled to only a single count of Conspiracy to Import Cocaine, evaded more serious charges under and agreement that requires him to assist American law enforcement. He admitted, during a statement that was recorded, prior involvement as a career criminal in the drug trade.

The principal defendant, Fahie, faces multiple counts after he agreed to protect undercover Federal agents posing as drug smugglers, who said they were moving narcotics into the US through BVI territorial waters. Maynard's mother, OLEANVINE PICKERING MAYNARD, the BVI Ports Director, has also entered a plea of guilty, and will be sentenced in January, when Fahie goes to trial; He faces what is in essence a life sentence, should he be convicted on multiple money laundering, drug trafficking and RICO-related charges.

Initially, Fahie hinted that he had first-hand information incriminating other senior Caribbean officials, a statement that reportedly had serious impact in the region, where local leaders have cooperated with narcotics traffickers in the past, and some have been indicted in the United States for conspiring to facilitate northbound drug shipments, and to launder the proceeds of narco-crime in local financial institutions. it was generally thought, among court observers, that Fahie would end up cooperating, to mitigate his exposure, but he remains insisting he will go to trial. We shall continue to monitor this case, and will advise on all developments, as they occur.