Taxpayers to pay over $1M after Customs loses boat seizure case
The BVI Customs Department has been ordered to pay local businessman Malcolm Maduro more than $1 million in damages, after his boat was seized following a drug-related incident and kept for years.
The High Court awarded Maduro, who operates Sunshine Power Boat Rental, $1,031,760 for lost income, along with $7,500 in aggravated damages and $24,000 in exemplary damages.
That brings the damages to $1,063,260, with interest and a portion of Maduro’s legal costs also to be paid, meaning the government’s final bill will be even higher. The dispute dates back to October 27, 2019, when Maduro rented his boat, MV New Life, to a customer. The vessel later became involved in a high-speed chase with police and was eventually beached on Virgin Gorda.
Passengers aboard the boat were arrested for possession of drugs, and Customs seized the vessel. However, the court noted that Maduro was never charged with any offence in connection with the incident. Maduro began asking for his boat back shortly after it was seized and later made repeated requests for its return.
He eventually took Customs to court in March 2020, claiming that the department had wrongfully kept his vessel and caused him to lose substantial income from his boat rental business. The court was highly critical of Customs’ handling of the matter, finding that although authorities initially had a reason to detain the boat, they failed to take the necessary legal steps to continue holding it.
“The silence and inaction on the part of the defendant (Customs) was loud,” the judge said in court documents obtained by BVI News.
The judge also pointed to evidence alleging “improper, high-handed, oppressive and abusive” conduct by Customs. Maduro told the court that losing his main vessel significantly reduced his business income and caused him financial hardship and mental anguish. The court calculated his lost income using a charter rate of $1,200 per day, while making deductions for expenses and periods when the boat would not reasonably have been operating.
In addition to the damages, Customs was ordered to pay 60 percent of the prescribed legal costs, as well as applicable interest.
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All these inept persons in high places within government. We need stop that who you for and related to culture. Leading this country steady off the cliff. $mil is expensive price for stupidity. As usual the people who make the dumb decisions will not be reprimanded cause who they for or related to. Add this case to the 5 mil BOA and 2.5 mil to Jamaica.
If only people were smart enough, the government and all them would be scraping for money for the amount of things ppl can sue them over right here in the BVI for all kinds of things that they decide to not look at or care for, on top of having family in positions wa know nothing about anything lol
In the UK, the cost of repairing a vehicle damaged by potholes is recoverable from the authority responsible for maintaining the road
In the BVI, public servants who fail to do their jobs properly and incur taxpayers in unnecessary expense are rewarded with comfortable pensions
Interesting
This judgement made me realize Customs leaders are not smart and bullies. Any simp new if person who rented vessel is not involved return it. But noooo they thought they was going to sell and profit of Mr. Maduro boat. I any normal society all the individuals in Customs who caused this outcome would be seeking employment elsewhere. When you put idiots and bullies in high places this is the result.
you need skills to be a good lawyer and then some
That’s what you call a good “cleaning”
WHO IS MALCOLM. LAWYER
Willock might need him
Their names were on ZBVI yesterday
Mandy Harnarinesingh represented Malcolm Maduro and sone Kneecosie Dummette for AG
Govt need to start firing right now who going pay that 2 million dollars?
You go mandy!!!beautiful lady!! Harbour chambers
Lawyer like the Zimmerman
The boss lady
so all i gotta do is run drugs and if i get catch say my asset was stolen and sue the government so even if the drug seized i going get back some kinda money
plus dpp does lose almost every serious case so those and board will get off do try again
economy bad criminals winning and politician thiefing and honest hard working tax payers who dont want to go jail and want to be on the straight and narrow taking all the blows
how is this fair?
where is the karma?
where is the justice?
why are we afraid to march?
I read on these same blogs once…….”too long honest, too long poor”
what ???
he didn’t do anything except rent it to someone
He had a right to not have his property taken and held
Ent have nada to do wid dis
Leve she alone
we need more cut throat prosecutors would tell the court he could khms. pull up his past related charges, have him show a paper trail of how this business operated and boat in question purchased.
I always wondered why Police/Customs always holding up persons property for years upon years.
and Z will live happily after……LOL
If he is smart, he will keep her out of it before she go spend it on her other men!!! trust me
The confidence to comment on people you know nothing about is always applaudable LOOOL A+
Why you’ll on the woman lol
Heads need to roll for this @$$!$#ne$$
Fire the whole damn AG chambers fire them
Malcolm flew in KC to fight this case kudos to him
Great work Mandy
Beauty and brains a rare combo
So along with TO is are some people getting fired at customs. Wade? Did he get his job back?
Time to remove people who are not doing a proper or good job for us. People like W and Christopher and Fahie, Lorna, BOA and Jamaican orperators and others who are costing the territory money.
We really should start demanding not that the failed HOA13 do good job but everyone.
Like … DMV that keeps passing cars with Tinted windows. Why do they still have a job?
It is time for accountability.
We cannot have Independence without accountability.
how bout we cant have independence period
1200 per day wow
How many points were taken for maintenence and repairs
I would think a min of 10 percent overall would cover it
I am no means an expert at all
I’m thinking a boat that been rented and abused regularly we are taking about a rental right
This boat would likely be auction d off at 5 to 6 years
Somehow I think the court was generous with their award because of a@%holes with bigger egos than regular law enforcement
Have a case against them for 4. K ing ineptitude who is your attorney malcolm
Its about time someone stood up to customs. More people need to stand up to customs. Customs officials especially those in headquarters have a attitude and bully mentality. Those days are gone. You go to them to state your case and its their way or the high way. They don’t know how to speak to people. The judge was rite ““improper, high-handed, oppressive and abusive” conduct by Customs.” I couldn’t have said it better. Let this be an example. More people need to stand up and excercise their rites.
These people are a special kind of stupid…..
really
Why do I as a rate payer have to pay for the egregious errors and prideful arrogance of HM Customs? Remember they took Delta Petroleum all the way to the Privy Council and lost that one too? Who paid for Customs’ presumpsuous cockyness back then?
Take it out of their salaries!
The whole department is long, long overdue for an attitude adjustment.
Given that HM Customs is in charge of foisting a flagrant and unfair hidden tax upon the people of the BVI, perhaps we’d be better off as a duty-free port? Then maybe the folks at Customs could go and find honest work instead.
Well since those Customs Officers were beyond negligent beyond reason and rationale; are they going to be punished? Would this not be deemed as gross misconduct and violation of the laws of these lands?
Over $1 million and not one person is fired?!? Would behaviour like this be tolerated in the private sector with this amount of financial loss?!?! With the rising costs of living (think electricity bill, food) this over $1 million could’ve been used more wisely don’t you think?!? Is HRM Customs carrying a Contingent Liability in their budget for other cases worming their way through the judicial system?
What does the subject minister have to say about this grave situation? Is he prepared to publicly reprimand those involved and FIRE them? Are those responsible going to have to pay some of this bill to Malcolm? This is beyond ridiculous now!!!
Hire Mandy to defend the AG because now the flood gates open
The bad part of all this is the government will just treat this as business as usual. One million — they don’t care, it’s not out of their pocket, it’s out of ours. Just add it to all the other millions the government has lost or stolen. UK NOW
Is it worth it? BVI Customs take note. Persons who are caught smuggling drugs, confiscate the product/cash. Fine the culprits and release them/deport them. Seizure of vessels equate to financial losses for the government… what do we gain??? Chase would be smugglers into the USVI and tip off the coast guard instead of the coast guard chasing them here. $$$ for courts $$$ to house and feed them $$$ to send them home. All of this is insanity. It’s time to change the laws… unless you like wasting money
Tek Dat. Good luck collecting Malcolm.
Let government tek their time to pay this. because the news say govt have to pay interest so is more money for maduro the longer dem tek
You all always look down on down foreigners saying we are this and that like you all say we from here we born here but all it is a bunch of people in high places from here bringing down the country running it to the ground instead of trying to build and make it a better place incompetent idiots.
That money could’ve bought a brand new MRI, some new x-ray equipment etc. BVIEC could’ve used that to invest in sub-terrain power lines along the coastline and vulnerable areas. The schools would have loved to use that for the maintenance of the classrooms. The home for the seniors would have used that money to move beyond a pile of overgrown dirt! Maybe a new library in a district that needs it? What about fixing the leakage from the aging water distribution system? The list is endless….!!!!
Customs charges for everything imported into these islands and this is how a responsible entity behaves?!?!
Where is th e public outcry? Wish I flood stop paying taxes now!!
Yet the silence is deafening…we must print DOLLARS here somewhere!!!
outcry for ineptitude they need schooling
Not founding guilty doesn’t means you are not guilty. It is not shocking at all how many are happy about this not realizing the damage- the damage is more than the fine itself- The boat owner was … before the seized and will be one after as well. The DPP lost lots of cases but that didn’t means the people who got off is innocent.
I looking for your point friend
Thanks Jesus Christ.
Indeed
When you get overzealous and do not cross your T’s and dot your I’s in law enforcement, investigations, intelligence and continuous and secretive surveillance. Stuff like this happens. Seize the time.
I wounder why VINO don’t have this story? Perhaps it’s because Wilxxxck is supporting VIP and he don’t want to make the Government look bad. But wait isn’t that censorship?
to BVI News because at least we getting objective news and they not trying to hide nada
BVi news
But do we get to keep da boat?
the man get he boat back too so WTFFFFFF
Remember Cuatoms also lost the court case against Delta and paid out millions of taxpayers money then too.
on their rep not the department they dont represent themselves
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS TO GO ASAP
exactly?
2 mil? really?
That’s not rite
2 mil which currency