Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Forensic audit reports to be scrutinized by legal minds before police – Ramjattan
By Kiana Wilburg
A number of forensic audit reports have been handed over to the Ministry of Public Security where they
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan
will be initially perused by legal minds, for irregularities of a criminal nature, and then forwarded to the police.
This is according to Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan.
The attorney-at law noted that Cabinet on Tuesday decided that a sub-committee would be formed to scrutinize some of the major forensic audit reports. The committee will include Ramjattan, Attorney General Basil Williams and Junior Finance Minister, Jaipaul Sharma.
The Minister noted that the sub-committee will go through the reports with an aim to determine which deal mainly with administrative irregularities and which enter the realm of criminality.
The Parliamentarian said that the matters of an administrative nature would require disciplinary action against those at fault, while those of a criminal nature will be forwarded to the police for further investigations.
Ramjattan said that it would be too burdensome to just hand the reports over to the police only to find that some reports speak only to administrative improprieties.
He revealed that some of the audit reports relate to the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Guyana Gold Board, the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), and the audit into the procurement of drugs in Guyana.
Kaieteur News understands that from all indications, the six major forensic audit reports already have irregularities of a criminal nature.
Last week, Junior Finance Minister Sharma said that while he understands that the public may be impatient, he is asking them to “just wait a little bit longer”. Government is expected to release numerous forensic audit reports in a matter of two weeks, he said. He promised that “it will not be a second longer” than this deadline.
Only four of the 50 forensic audit reports launched by Government have been released. These are the reports on the Marriott Hotel, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Carifesta X 2008 and the acquisition of the water cannon by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Sharma said that most of the reports are complete but are under review, as the respective entities must have a chance to respond to some of the findings uncovered by the forensic auditors.
Some of the firms contracted to conduct the forensic audits included Nigel Hinds Financial Service, Ram and Mc Rae and HLB Seebarran and Co. Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran along with Harryman Parmesar, were also contracted to conduct several forensic audits.
Mr. Sharma was reluctant to say how many reports will be released and in what order. He said that this is a decision that will have to be made by Cabinet.
He emphasised that the reports must receive Cabinet’s blessings before being released.
It was in May that the Granger-led administration began expending some $133M of taxpayers’ dollars on 45 of the 50 forensic audits to ascertain how the assets of the state were sold, disposed of or transferred under the previous administration. The remaining five audits were sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The forensic audits in some cases have reportedly not only uncovered fraud and various forms of corruption, but investigators have also made several critical recommendations for the way forward on several agencies and sectors, all of which Cabinet is yet to see.
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