GUYANESE ARE LIKE SITTING DUCKS

Feb 25, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Money laundering is one of the hardest offences to prove. Money laundering also has one of the poorest rates of charges and success in the world. This is because its takes a long time to establish the offence of money laundering.
It seems, however, as if in Guyana, the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) is out to break a record. It seems as though they are out to show that they can make money laundering charges out of mere suspicion.
Money laundering charges are not made by raiding the homes of businessmen in the wee hours of the mornings and carting off whatever cash and jewelry they have in their possession. Yet this seems to be the approach being adopted by SOCU
This is a most dangerous practice because as we know Guyana is cash economy and most businessmen deal with large quantities of cash.
Having $10M in cash may seem to be a lot of money to some people but two car sales would amount to more than that. There are businessmen who have to utilize more than $10M in cash for ration for their workers in the interior. There some construction companies who pay their workers in cash because those workers do not have bank accounts and bank cards.
Some business people prefer to keep large amounts of cash on them because they feel it safer to do so than to try to send it to the bank. The money can be snatched en route to the bank.
The money can be intercepted as was the case with some gold recently. There are criminals riding around on motor cycles waiting to pounce on you. So some people feel safer with their monies near them than in trying to get it to the bank.
Since when is holding large amounts of cash or jewelry a crime? Is this what the APNU+AFC is attempting to do? Is it attempting to criminalize the cash economy?
Are these raids part of the normal modus operandi of SOCU? Is this their understanding of how organized crime is going to be beaten?
Money laundering investigations normally begin by tracing suspicious transactions, not by going after suspicious persons. Money laundering investigations involve a paper trail. It is this trail that leads inevitably to the establishment of a case.
The raids on homes by SOCU were they not tragic would have been akin to comedy serial. This is not the way to prosecute financial crimes. It is wrong start by SOCU.
It shows that the unit is out of its depth and does not have the necessary experience. SOCU is going about things the wrong way and it is going to be embarrassed.
We read a few weeks ago about raids on homes where large amounts of cash and jewelry were seized. We have not heard whether the cash and jewelry were returned in full. Can the media update us as to what has happened to the early seizures made by SOCU?
We have not heard whether anyone has been charged. We read about the home of a businessmen being invaded and money and computers seized. Those computers may have contained information of a commercial nature which ought not to find its way into the hands of the competitors of the importer. What is the purpose of seizing the computers?
SOCU seems to be on a fishing expedition. This expedition must not trample on the rights of citizens. There has been no advisory informing the Guyanese people as to the value of cash and jewelry that they are allowed to have on their person.
As such, Guyanese are like sitting ducks not knowing how much cash and one time one can have before attracting the attention of SOCU.
Guyanese are like sitting ducks not knowing when SOCU will come knocking!

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GUYANESE ARE LIKE SITTING DUCKS

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