STEFAN STEEDE, of Santa Cruz, was granted bail in the sum of $600,000 by Couva Magistrate Alexander Prince yesterday December 1st after he was charged with Money Laundering in the sum of $297,000, and Obtaining a Valuable Security by False Pretences.

The 45-year-old man was charged on November 30th, 2022 by officers attached to the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB), following advice received from Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard SC.

According to the police statement on the matter in August 2012 STEEDE was contracted by the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation to purchase and deliver a number of items.

An invoice was submitted and the accused tendered a payment in the sum of $297,000. It was later discovered that the items were neither purchased nor delivered to the Corporation and all attempts to obtain a refund of the payment from STEEDE proved futile.

It was further discovered that the accused allegedly ‘laundered’ the money via over-the-counter transactions, withdrawals from Automated Teller Machines and Point of Sales payments.

A report was made to the ACIB and investigations were conducted between 2020 and 2022 resulting in STEEDE’S arrest. The investigations were supervised by Snr. Supt. Singh and Supt Abbott and were conducted by ASP (Ag.) Bryon Daniel, Inspectors McMillan and Dick, Sgt Codrington and PC Pitt.