GRA cashier arrested

Jan 10, 2010 News

A cashier from the Guyana Revenue Authority, who last week stole almost a million dollars from the entity, has been taken into police custody.

The cashier, 32-year old Ian Havercombe, was arrested on Friday at his residence, 29 Railway Road, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara.

Kaieteur News understands that ranks from the Police Fraud Squad along with their counterparts from the Beterverwagting Police Station swooped down on Havercombe’s residence around 11:00 hours.

There were no reports of the cashier resisting arrest or attempting to escape.

This newspaper understands that the arrest came as a surprise to Havercombe who had freely mingled with ranks from the Beterverwagting Police Station the day before his arrest.

However, the ranks there were unaware that he was wanted by the police.

On Monday last, Havercombe disappeared with $976,000 which he was supposed to have deposited into the entity’s Bank of Guyana account.

Although he subsequently returned the cash, he had not reported for duty since he left work on Monday afternoon.

There was some initial confusion over the reporting of the matter to the police.

The GRA had indicated that its officials had reported the matter to the police on the day it occurred.

It was only Thursday, that the police kicked into action after verifying that a report was made.

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had told this newspaper that the return of the stolen money does not negate the actual larceny.

“Paying back the money does not negate the crime,” Persaud said.

Police have since taken statements from several employees of the GRA and have launched a search for the missing cashier.

Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur had expressed disgust over the recent theft, which came just two months after the GRA uncovered a massive fraud involving millions of dollars.

“There would be increased emphasis on integrity, professionalism and honesty of the staff of the organisation and this has to start from the point of recruitment,” Sattaur said.

He emphasised the role of the Integrity Committee launched in December 2009 in achieving this objective.

The entity has been stern in dealing with employees implicated in frauds and reassured that once a person is found culpable they will be charged and dismissed from the job.