Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 03, 2016 News
Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, has confirmed that former Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL)
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aeshwar Deonarine, is no longer in Canada.
Last year, Deonarine left Guyana for Canada shortly after an audit ordered by the coalition government revealed that he had paid himself $27.8M from the Company’s account as “back pay.”
During a recent interview, Blanhum said that Deonarine left Canada even before the Guyana Police Force (GPF) applied to the court to have an arrest warrant issued for him.
“I was reliably informed that Mr. Deonarine is no longer in Canada. During the course of the investigation, he would have left that jurisdiction (Canada) and now he is in another jurisdiction,” the Crime Chief pointed out.
While Blanhum did not reveal which country Deonarine is in, he said that local law enforcement officers are working along with their counterpart in that country.
Deonarine and former Board Member, Carvil Duncan, were accused of being part of a multi-million-dollar fraud at the power company.
The men are alleged to have illegally transferred close to $30M to their personal bank accounts from the PetroCaribe Funds.
Last January, Deonarine and Duncan, 73, were slapped with charges of conspiracy and simple larceny. The charges were read by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
However, Duncan was the only one present in court since his partner in crime had already fled the country.
The 73-year-old man, who is the President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union, was accused of conspiring with Deonarine on May 7 and May 8 at Georgetown, to steal $27,757,500, property of GPL.
He was also accused of stealing $984,900 from GPL after conspiring with Deonarine on March 31, 2015 at Georgetown.
The former Director pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released on $1M bail.
Attorney Charles Ramson Jr. is representing Duncan.
This newspaper understands that prior to him being charged, Duncan was offered a deal to repay the money. He allegedly said that he wanted it in writing that once he repaid the money he would not be prosecuted.
The charge followed when he later refused to make restitution. A warrant was subsequently issued for Deonarine’s arrest. He too had told the authorities that he would repay the money.
Kaieteur News was told that the discoveries of the suspicious transfers were made by independent auditors who were probing the PetroCaribe Fund, which holds proceeds of oil shipments taken from neighbouring Venezuela.
It was while tracking payments to GPL that auditors unearthed the abnormal transactions.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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