Current system to combat financial crimes working – Jagdeo

Nov 02, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News- The mechanisms in place to combat financial crimes are working and are effective, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters on Wednesday at his weekly press conference held at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown.

The Vice President’s comments came following the suggestion by the opposition that the system is not working.

“The magnitude of the charges, have been mind-blowing to them. These are the same people who were saying nothing would happen. So now they have gone from that to the entire Police Force. This shows the system is working. The system is working and that is important to us,” Jagdeo told reporters.

He believes that everyone was astonished at the fact that there was an investigation and there was a filed sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who recommended several charges be laid against an assistant police commissioner of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Jagdeo said that following the charges laid against the senior police officer, the opposition was left with “nothing to hang their hats on.”

Further, the Vice President reminded that under the former A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) several high-ranking police officials were fingered in similar allegations to that of embattled Assistant Police Commissioner, Calvin Brutus.

“They fobbed it off to the Police Complaints Authority and then cleared the allegations. They didn’t take it to SOCU to have a full investigation. SOCU was then going after their political opponents. So, they have a long history of trying to control the Police Force,” Jagdeo said.

Commenting on an editorial published in the Stabroek News on Monday and captioned, ‘The GPF and the charges against Mr. Brutus’, he said that “It makes a mockery of the functioning and authority of the Force because we found one Deputy Commissioner has been charged for money laundering and is facing other charges.”

Referencing statements by Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul that the Police Force has now become “a national risk” while questioning how the existing situation with Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus incident occurred in the first place, Jagdeo stressed that Mahipaul and his colleagues are clearly unaware of how the Money Laundering Act works.

“So, this shows a profound ignorance of all that’s happening in the Police Force and a profound lack of knowledge of how the Anti-Money laundering Act works. We have had an evaluation by the CFATF and they have confirmed that our situation in Guyana… that the legislation, the institutional framework, the policy and the national strategy are consistent with international standards. That has just been confirmed. This is a major thing because you are evaluated based on international standards and based on comments from your peers,” he explained.

Furthermore, Jagdeo said, “If you go to a bank and you make a deposit that is above a threshold or the bankers suspect that you are making a transfer that is of a suspicious nature. They have to file a Suspicious Transaction Report with the FIU. This is what happens. It’s not that they won’t take your money, they would take your money put it into an account and then they would file a Suspicious Transaction Report with the FIU, that this looks unusual.”

In the case of Brutus, the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) did the investigation subsequently sending the report to SOCU and then “SOCU in an independent way without any executive interference” instead of what he believes transpired under the APNU+AFC administration.

On October 26^, this publication reported that the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) called for a thorough and independent investigation into the top brass of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Leader of the Party, Aubrey Norton told reporters at his party’s weekly press conference that several officers of the Force are corrupt and unfit for the posts they hold.

Norton, when asked to comment on the allegations leveled against Brutus said that he is convinced that other persons are involved in the alleged crimes.

The PNCR leader said that he has no doubt that several senior officials, in and out of the Police Force are involved.

“…that is why I said his life is probably in danger. As it relates to SOCU, I won’t want SOCU investigate nothing, it’s like charging Caesar to be tried by Caesar,” Norton told reporters.

Firm in his distrust for the Force, Norton stressed the need for there to be an international, professional body investigating the allegations against Brutus and other serving members of the Police Force.

“You cannot charge Caesar to be tried by Caesar. I am dead sure if tomorrow morning Bharrat Jagdeo gets up and says oh there is nothing against Brutus, the DPP will withdraw the charges… SOCU to me has become an institution to persecute and prosecute…,” he stated.

(Current system to combat financial crimes working)

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