Christopher Ram sues Guyana Times for $100M

Nov 20, 2013 News

Prominent accountant Christopher Ram has sued the Guyana Times newspapers for $100M, claiming that the outfit published a series of untruths about him last month during a relentless attack on his character.

Christopher Ram

Ram, a business columnist and a practicing lawyer, was on Monday granted a temporary injunction barring the newspaper from repeating the alleged libel until the court case is completed.
The lawsuit was filed on November 13th through Ram’s lawyers – Rex Mc Kay, Neil Boston, Bettina Glasford and Brenden Glasford.
Both Guyana Times Inc. and its editor, Nigel Williams, were named as the defendants.
According to Ram, he is a chartered accountant and managing partner of Ram and Mc Rae.
In his court documents, he claimed that in October, Guyana Times, a newspaper with close ties to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, published nine articles describing him as Guyana’s leading bookkeeper and at the same time linking him with Guyana Stores, saying he was non-compliant with his taxes to the tune of millions.
Over a number of days, between October 8th and 16th, the newspaper kept on publishing articles, accusing Ram of being greedy and helping to bankrupt Guyana Stores Limited, a company that is currently involved in a court battle with Government regarding alleged outstanding payments pertaining to its privatization.
In one of the articles, Guyana Times linked Ram to Kaieteur News’ publisher, Glenn Lall, saying that both

Guyana Times Editor, Nigel Williams

are “desperately trying to evade court action”.
Ram also claimed that he was accused of being an abysmal failure, unethical, and that he had betrayed the accounting profession.
The newspaper, owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, also suggested that the accountant was guilty of culpability in a massive heist and was an opposition advisor and auditor of Guyana Stores.
“The allegations are untrue and constitute a grave libel on me and were published with malice on the part of the defendants,” Ram said in asking for the restraining order against the newspaper.
The court documents also said that on October 31st, Guyana Times continued the attack on Ram, carrying a front page statement saying that he and Lall were still to pay up taxes.
In this case, it was suggested that the accountant was incompetent and unfit to retain an occupation in accounting and auditing… “That I am guilty of a criminal offence due to greed and complicity. That I am a tax evader,” Lall claimed.
Ram also claimed that based on the publication, his credibility, character and reputation were severely injured, hurting his profession as an accountant, financial analyst, attorney-at-law and managing partner of Ram and Mc Rae,
As recent as Monday last, Ram said his lawyers wrote the Guyana Times making four demands to correct the alleged libel, but there was no response from the newspaper.
The matter comes up before Chief Justice (ag), Ian Chang, on November 28th.