Watson and Blake silent at first court showing

(CNS): The charges against the former treasurer at the Cayman Islands Football Association, Canover Watson, and its current vice president, Bruce Blake, for alleged corruption and related offences have been transmitted to the Grand Court after the two men made their first court appearance Tuesday. Watson and Blake sat a clear distance apart as they appeared in the dock and remained silent throughout the short hearing.

James Hinds QC, a UK fraud expert instructed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to represent the crown in this case, asked for the case to be heard in the higher court on 6 September.

No details of the case against the two men were revealed, as Magistrate Valdis Foldats explained the process of transmittal and then bailed both Blake and Watson to return next month.

According to the charges made public last month by the Anti-Corruption Commission, both men are charged with secret commission and false accounting, while Blake is also charged with control of and acquiring criminal property. The accusations relate back to 2014 and irregularities in the CIFA accounts, questionable loans and money used to build CIFA’s Centre of Excellence in Prospect.