Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 08, 2017 News
More than two weeks after being granted some time to hand over critical documents pertaining to one of the biggest fraud investigations in Guyana, a local bank is headed back to court on Friday.
Legal representatives will be appearing before Chief Justice (ag), Roxanne George-Wiltshire, to say whether the Guyana Bank For Trade and Industry (GBTI) has complied.
The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has reportedly collected some documents, legal officials confirmed.
However, calls to SOCU’s head, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sydney James, went unanswered yesterday. The unit is said to be verifying whether it has received what it asked for.
On October 20, last, the High Court granted the bank time to search for transaction documents relating to the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), in a case that is being closely watched.
The privately-controlled bank was battling SOCU over the release of information pertaining to bank accounts of the Rice Board. A number of other banks reportedly complied but there was a problem with GBTI, according to SOCU.
SOCU says it had requested the information since February but delays it believed were deliberate in nature, caused it to approach the courts, both the Magistrate’s Court and the High Court, for orders to force GBTI to comply.
The police unit, which focuses on financial crimes, filed contempt charges last month against eight officials, including the entire board of directors and the current chief, claiming that the bank did not comply, despite being granted extensions. Seven of the directors and the bank’s chief later appeared in court and were read the charges before being released on self-bail.
Representing SOCU was its head Sydney James; and Solicitor-General of the Attorney General Chambers, Kim Kyte. For the bank, the lawyers were Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran and Stephen Fraser.
Speaking with the media afterwards, Ramkarran disclosed that on August 29, the CJ granted Production Orders asking GBTI to submit a number of documents within seven days.
Among other things, SOCU wanted to know details of transaction relating to the GRDB foreign accounts, over a number of years.
Ramkarran said that during the session with the CJ yesterday, the bank applied for an extension of time. He said that the bank, controlled by the Beharry Group, addressed the number of transactions- over 3,000-plus and the documents required by the order… over 9000.
He said that the bank sought to cooperate fully and by the extension deadline in early October, had submitted 9000-plus documents.
According to the lawyer, the bank faced challenges as it receives thousands of documents per day- so it is “appreciated” that some of these can’t be found.
He said that the bank cannot account for about 150 documents that SOCU is asking for. However, 9000-plus documents were supplied.
He said that the bank asked for more time to find the missing documents.
The CJ, following the arguments of both SOCU and the bank, ordered that further submissions be made by November 3 and for the documents to be found- the matter was adjourned to November 10.
According to Ramkarran, the High Court developments would impact on the contempt charges filed Thursday in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court by SOCU as they were based on the Production Orders issued by the CJ.
On the issue of disclosure of information and privacy of accounts, which GBTI had initially taken issue with and was willing to head to court to fight SOCU, Ramkarran, who is also a blogger, noted that the bank has to obey the legal provisions of the anti-money laundering laws which were amended in recent years. The laws mandate financial institutions to hand over information that is requested by the courts.
However, Ramkarran insisted, GBTI has more than complied.
Several former officials, including board members and Opposition parliamentarians, have been charged with fraud crimes involving millions of dollars.
SOCU’s battles have embroiled the Director of Public Prosecutions who was accused of causing delays in the charges.
The DPP chambers last month questioned the investigative capacity of the police.
However, the administration defended SOCU’s work, saying that it has released resources and training, both local and overseas to the unit.
The lawyer for the DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack, happens to be Senior Counsel Robin Stoby, the current Chairman of the Board of Directors for GBTI, raising the spectre of a possible conflict of interest situation.
SOCU is tracking down US$500M that GRDB handled as far back as 2010. Those monies represented transfers from the Ministry of Finance to pay rice farmers and millers who participated in a lucrative rice-for-oil deal with neighbouring Venezuela.
Farmers and millers, up to 2015, would supply rice, through GRDB.
Under the deal, Guyana received oil, at concessional rates and conditions…Guyana would pay part of the money upfront and the rest over a number of years. The delayed oil money was what the Ministry of Finance paid over to the GRDB to pay rice farmers and millers.
SOCU is reportedly contending that GRDB used those monies to grant illegal loans to some rice millers and even organisations close to the former ruling party.
GRDB is being investigated, also, about a number of transfers overseas to a number of banks.
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