Former BVI Premier Andrew Fahie.
Andrew Fahie needs more space and more privacy to meet with his lawyer than his daughter’s cramped two-bedroom apartment can provide.
That is one of the main reasons being given by his attorney, Theresa Van Vliet, in her most recent public filing in the case, in which she asks for relaxed bail conditions for her client as they prepare for trial in the coming weeks.
The motion for more flexibility for Mr. Fahie, the former premier of the British Virgin Islands arrested in Miami last April on drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering charges, was filed last week. Ms. Van Vliet had been traveling to Mr. Fahie’s house arrest location to meet with her client, but says that this arrangement does not afford them the privacy they need to discuss sensitive legal matters.
Mr. Fahie’s two daughters also occupy the apartment, and attend classes online. They have reportedly been able to leave the unit for short periods of time while their father meets with his lawyer, but as those meetings necessarily become more frequent and more lengthy ahead of trial, this arrangement will become less feasible, Ms. Van Vliet argued.
She wants the court to adjust her client’s bail conditions so that he is allowed to travel the 45 minutes to her Ft. Lauderdale office to have meetings, no more than three times a week. Mr. Fahie’s attorney is also seeking permission for her client to be allowed to leave the residence to access dental care.
Ms. Van Vliet noted in her filing that the prosecution did not have an objection to modified bond conditions for Mr. Fahie.
Following his attendance at the 2022 Seatrade Cruise Conference, Fahie was arrested alongside his Director of Ports Oleanvine Maynard over a plot they reportedly made with a confidential source of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Ms. Maynard’s son Kadeem Maynard was also arrested on the same day in another location, for his alleged role in the scheme.The plan was to use the BVI as a transshipment point for cocaine coming from South America to be trafficked into Miami. The Maynards opted to remain in federal detention ahead of their trial.
