Kadeem Reid granted $2m bail in $600m Jamaican bank fraud case
The Court of Appeal has granted bail to Kadeem Reid, accused of masterminding a $600m bank fraud. Reid must surrender travel documents and report to police daily.
Court of Appeal grants bail to alleged $600m bank fraud mastermind
Jamaica's Court of Appeal has granted $2 million bail to businessman Kadeem Reid, accused of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that allegedly defrauded several Jamaican banks of more than $600 million, jamaica-gleaner.com reports.
Reid, who has been in custody since April, was ordered to surrender his travel documents, report to the police daily, and refrain from contacting any witnesses in the case. A stop order has also been placed on him at all ports of entry.
The ruling came after Reid's attorneys, Able-Don Foote and Earle Witter, K.C., filed 11 grounds of appeal challenging an earlier High Court decision to refuse bail. The High Court judge had cited a risk to the administration of justice and the possibility of Reid reoffending, pointing to the alleged supervisory role he played in the scheme.
His attorneys argued that the High Court judge erred by failing to give proper weight to her own finding that Reid was not a flight risk, and that she therefore failed to apply the ultimate bail test as established by the Privy Council, Jamaica's highest appellate court. They further contended that bail was denied without adequate evidential or lawful basis and that the judge did not consider what they described as "inherent weaknesses" in the prosecution's case and a lack of sufficient evidence.
Reid faces multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud. He is accused of being the principal architect behind a mortgage and real estate fraud operation that, according to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), used forged official documents and property titles to secure approximately $600 million in mortgage loans from five banks between January 2023 and April 2024.
Three other individuals were also arrested and charged in connection with the scheme earlier this year: Chloe Douett, 30, a medical doctor of Cherry Gardens in Upper St Andrew; Ivana Campbell, 29, an executive assistant of Cedar Grove in St Catherine; and Dwayne Pitter, a labourer of Olympic Gardens in St Andrew.
Douett has already pleaded guilty in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston on July 24 to multiple charges linked to the scheme. MOCA led the investigation into the case.
Source: Google News JM — Crime