CIG wasting public cash in battle with Doctors Express
(CNS): The recent ruling by the Grand Court forcing government lawyers to hand documents over to Doctors Express is part of a long legal battle that has seen the government waste hundreds of thousands of public dollars. The documents might reveal the reasons why no public official has ever been prosecuted for the unlawful raid at the medical facility and the subsequent cover-ups.
In a recent release, Sam Banks, the director of Doctors Express, said that over the last five years, the government has deployed at least ten lawyers in several legal cases trying to “defend the indefensible and illegal actions of their agents”.
The long-running courtroom battle began after an unlawful ban was imposed on prescription cannabis medicines and an illegal raid on the clinic in 2019. Soon afterwards, Doctors Express applied for a judicial review, which ended in its favour and also exposed serious wrongdoing and collusion by the authorities, including the police, customs and the chief medical officer.
Following the damning findings of the court, the Anti-Corruption Commission conducted an investigation but no charges were ever brought. Therefore, Doctors Express and its associated company, Kaiser Day, applied for and was granted another judcial review to find out why. However, during the process, the Attorney General’s Chambers refused to hand over to the clinic’s lawyers important documents relating to the decision on why no public official was going to be held accountable for the unlawful raid.
Banks said he welcomed last month’s decision by the court ordering the government to reveal this information.
“We live in a country of laws and no one is above the law,” Banks said soon after the ruling was made public. “Decisions of public officials must be exposed to the sunlight of public scrutiny. I am grateful that the Grand Court has rejected the attempts of the Government’s lawyers to suppress the real reasoning behind their decision not to bring charges against those who unlawfully misused the powers of their public offices to target Doctors Express and Kaiser Day.”
Banks explained that since the raid some five years ago, the business has had to “fight the Government at every stage”.
“As a medical facility, we take seriously our commitment to act in the best interests of the public we serve and we expect the Government to share that same commitment. However, for the last five years, the Government has instead wasted vast sums of money from the public purse attempting to defend the indefensible and illegal actions of their agents. At least six Cayman government lawyers and four London lawyers, including three KCs, have been instructed by the Government and the DPP to resist our efforts to
obtain justice,” Banks noted.
But he made it clear the team will continue the fight for justice in the hope that no one else in the Cayman Islands will be victimised by their own government.
“I encourage those responsible for continuing to contest the litigation to carefully consider their position before yet further costs to the public are incurred,” Banks stated.
While the courtroom battle to doscover why no one was held to account for what happened rolls on, Doctors Express confirmed that it was awarded costs on an indemnity basis, which is the type of order reserved only for exceptional cases where the court wants to mark disapproval of the manner in which the losing party has behaved and where the damages can be very high.
How much the government had to pay out has never been revealed, despite warnings by the auditor general that these numbers should not be hidden behind non-disclosure agreements.
Nevertheless, the government continues to chalk up further expenses in this case in an effort to continue keeping a lid on why those shown to have been responsible for the illegal raid have escaped justice.
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Category: Crime, Local News
Cayman Islands. Third world in a suit and perfect just the way it is.
So many, including Sir Alden, were very offended when Mr. Legge said that corruptíon was so common in these islands, people had a difficult time even recognising it.
This is a good example of what he meant.
Whatever actions the Government takes should be able to withstand any public scrutiny.
Wasting public funds to fight to cover up public officials potential wrongdoing is despicable.
Similarly accurate headline “CIG Wasting Public Cash in Everything They Do!”
Only a few years ago David Legge suggested, not that Cayman was corrupt, but it needed to be on guard against corruption and he was run out of town. Now look at us. Doctors Express and Dwayne Seymour episodes to name only a few. And yet some people still get bent out of shape when you point out the obvious. Cayman is now rotten to the core. As someone else remarked, how did we get off the grey list, or any list for that matter?
We got off the grey list because of the onerous KYC/AML requirements for Cayman entities and residents. These do not apply to CIG or Cabinet. Rules for thee and not for me!
AML regime applied disproportionately. Rules for me, but not for thee. Don’t worry. The 5th Round Mutual Evaluation coming soon. FATF need to know the truth about AML smoke and mirrors game being played.
Long before Legge came along I found a lot of local fraud. Real estate fraud was common which included the famous Prospect Properties case involving Jim Bodden, his son and others. Selling swamp was pretty common in those days as was selling the same land twice. Many local developers were up to it.
Since then land has been a haven for fraud culminating in the Ritz Carlton fraud of over $200m. Our government of the day got suckered into it and lost $6m. A well known large fat politician did well with his one per cent overriding commission on all sales.
I should add that stamp duty evasion is continually out there but no one cares.
The CIG needs to employ a full time investigator whose sole mandate is ensuring that all fraud including kickbacks, perpetrated on CIG is uncovered.
Spot on, Chris. However, don’t forget collusion between public sector and private institutions/individuals.
Another day, another exposure of Cayman’s .gov shambolic performance and practices on full display for all to see!
I am starting to lose faith in the island’s governance in general and in the willingness/capacity of the governor to take action before the complexity of the situation flies past the capability of people to stay within the confines of polite discourse.
What I find particularly saddening is that unless it comes to massive protests , successive administrations have been pursuing goals and policies against the long term interests of the public and even the people that elected them as representatives behind closed doors of course!
Do we have to get to the low point of having mass protests and dealing with the ensuing disruption and disorder to stop the current madness ? Has we so rudderless that it’s become the sole alternative, im very much hope not !
Get rid of the dam “deputy Governer” and you will see a big difference. He has been in there all of these years and what good has he ever done for this island but sell it out.
dont worry…the government will be government…and the circus continues…lol…only the clowns get crazier…
Politicians and senior Civil Servants are always above the law. The wagons must always be circled and the partying must be allowed to continue.
That’s just the way it is.
The politicians and government officials all have full blanket immunity for anything they may do wrong or illegally. How could you expect them to be so officiant at doing their jobs?
It does raise a question as to why the attorney general is allowing this to continue when he is a very learned KC? Of course this fits the operating system of throw money at anything because who cares, it is not their money they are pissing away.
The AG got a 24 month extension of his contract.
24 months too much longer. AG needs to retire now. He’s done enough damage for long enough.
We live in a country of laws but everyone knows that there are people in this country that are above the law. The corruption runs deep in the Cayman Islands.
Seems as deep, if not deeper than the Cayman Trench.
John Lee and Martyn Roper need to return and explain themselves in a Court of Law.
Chuckie knows the answers, ask him (in a court of law).
Why no one at Customs? Why none of the people that went in with guns?
Do not forget about Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and Attorney General Samuel Bulgin all are culpable and have been from the beginning of the decision making process.
Nothing “world class” about the civil service and overall management.
Incorrect, it is in fact a world class shit show.
Don’t worry yourself as that will never happen!
People need to be prosecuted, disbarred and jailed if necessary to ensure the stench of corruption in Cayman’s public offices can be finally ridded.
Mess it up then cover it up. Should be the CIG motto. No one will ever be held accountable – they never are.
I hope if Doctor Express run low of funds that they consider using GoFundMe. i think the whole Island would contribute so the government legal cartel can be exposed.
then we paying twice bobo
They should have more than enough money to fund their efforts considering a full 1g cart in the states is $35US, and we get .5g here for $85CI. Exorbitantly overpriced.
You want it? pay for it! otherwise quiet down.
You might lick boots as a hobby where you’re from, but in Cayman we are free to discuss our gripes when and where we want.
The traditional role of attorneys general in Commonwealth countries is to protect the rule of law and the public interest. In Cayman it appears that the only role is to spend public money in the protection of the private interests of an endless stream of embarrassingly bad decisions by senior civil servants and politicians… that and to ensure that there is never any accountability.
The Anti-Corruption Commission also investigated after the “damning” findings of the court but no charges were ever brought. When will this commission do anything significant?
This is a perfect textbook example of what the ACC should be investigating and bringing charges. Dr. Lee should have never bee allowed to leave Cayman, but should have been prosecuted.
Government needs to not engage in this type of unlawful behavior in the first place.
And, when action is brought by victims as a last resort to defend themselves, Government needs to not waste money from the public purse defending, when instead Government should settle and take effective corrective action to make things right.
What happened here, has happened in other cases, and is continuing to happen in others should be made right and stop bleed the public purse and trying to defend indefensible positions.
Corrective action MUST include meaningful penalties for those responsible, at whatever rank. If crimes were committed then there should be arrests and prosecutions. The impunity with which people use their uniforms to override law, must stop.
Director of Customs (including CBC officers)
Chief Medical Officer (Dr. Lee)
RCIPS officers
Attorney General
Director of Public Prosecutions
Why are they not all charged and prosecuted?
Good question. They should be charged. It appears that the foxes are guarding the henhouses. Collusion and corruption.
All in the name of desperately trying to protect one individual.
Chuckster has registered his thumb vote.
I think they are referring to Dr Lee!!
You think wrong.
No one really cares about Dr. Lee. He was just a little travel sized speedbump they rolled over on the way to an illegal raid.
Many do care that Dr. Lee, who was the CMO at the time, was acting unlawfully and unlawfully colluding and conspiring with other public officials.
As someone that has been through the Judicial Review process based on a decision made by Cabinet and won. The most shocking part when you get to the end is that there is not some great conspiracy or intricate decision making that you uncovered. You realize that what you find is just one person making a decision based on there own interests with no thought or process. The rest of Cabinet just goes along because the day will come when when they need something pushed through without question. Truly sad. I give full credit to Mr. Banks for his dogged perseverance.
Yes. This is increasingly the case in so many aspects. One person makes a decision based on … whatever benefits them at the time. Somebody who wants to go to lunch. Somebody who is uncertain about the rules but can’t be bothered to check. We are rapidly becoming a banana republic where nobody knows the regulations and laws, and everybody just goes along because getting to the bottom of things is impossible for Joe Public. Mr Banks, I salute you! Well done indeed.
Well I think it is time all the civil servants get themselves a pay raise!
They went in WITH GUNS!
No one has been arrested?
WTAF?