The High Court of Antigua & Barbuda has ruled in favour of the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP), allowing it to pursue a fresh forfeiture case against Kenroy Christian, nearly two years after authorities seized over EC$170,000 in suspected illicit funds.

The decision, handed down by Justice Renee Williams on May 1, dismissed Christian’s application to strike out the forfeiture claim, paving the way for the ONDCP to proceed despite an earlier order from the Magistrate’s Court that the money be returned.

Justice Williams found no legal basis for the body builder’s argument that the new High Court claim amounted to an abuse of the judicial process. Christian must now file a formal defence within 21 days, with the ONDCP given 14 days after that to reply. The matter has been adjourned to July 10, 2025, for a Case Management Conference.

The dispute originates from June 15, 2022, when the ONDCP seized EC$172,913.85 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, claiming it was either the proceeds of or intended for unlawful activity.

An initial forfeiture application was filed in September 2023 but was dismissed in February 2024 by Magistrate Dane Hamilton, who ordered the money returned to Christian. Rather than appealing the ruling or seeking a judicial review, the ONDCP filed a new claim in the High Court just two days later, after securing a fresh freeze order in August 2024.

Christian’s attorney, Wendel Alexander, accused the ONDCP of attempting to bypass the Magistrate’s ruling. He argued that the forfeiture application was invalid, as the original detention order had already expired when the second claim was made.

Despite those objections, the High Court has ruled that the new proceedings can go forward, leaving Christian once again fighting to reclaim his funds through the legal system