Businessman arrested in fatal crash denied bail variation to travel overseas

(CMR) A businessman who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving was denied a judicial review of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s decision not to adjust his bail condition to release his passport for travel.

According to court documents, the businessman was arrested earlier this year and later released on bail with the sole condition of his bail that he surrendered his passport. He has not yet been charged in the matter.

However, he wrote to the RCIPS requesting a temporary variation to his bail to allow him to get his passport to travel overseas.  He offered CI$5,000 cash bond and a Caymanian Surety for the period he would travel overseas; however, his request was denied.

The businessman requested a variation in his bail condition to travel to Vancouver, Canada, to visit his grandmother, who had suffered a stroke. He also said his father’s health was deteriorating following heart surgery, and he wished to travel to see him.

The RCIPS denied the request, citing the serious nature of the allegation against him and that investigations were still ongoing, adding that a cash bond and surety did not guarantee he would return to the island. The police also pointed out that he fled the scene of the crash.

The businessman believes the RCIPS’ decision was unreasonable and disproportionate and sought to have the matter addressed through a judicial review. His counsel argued that he has ties to the Cayman Islands as the cofounder of a local business and part of the crypto community, with 50 percent of his clients based here. He has no property or family in the Cayman Islands.

However, the Grand Court agreed with the RCIPS’ decision not to grant a variation to his bail condition, given the nature of the offense.

“Given the nature of the matter under consideration, the lack of ties of the applicant to the island, and the nature and amount of the cash bond that was offered, I do not find that the decision to refuse a variation to the sole condition of bail was disproportionate in all the circumstances,” Justice Marlene Carter stated in her decision.