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No citizen has a constitutional right to stolen property

Mar 08, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Christopher Ram is an avid researcher as he quotes the British Proceeds of Crime Bill. He would then know that an impact study on civil forfeiture completed by the Council of Europe Economic Crime Cooperation Unit concluded that for civil recovery to work effectively the following international standards should be included:
· The authorities must prove its case on a balance of probabilities;
· Interim and final orders should be made by a Court. Although no particular crime need be identified or proved, the court must be required to satisfy itself that the property is the proceeds of, or traceable to, crime;
· Any owner and any person claiming ownership must be allowed to participate in proceedings;
· Considerations should be given to whether an innocent owner defence should be provided for.
Contrary to the perceptions Christopher Ram is desperately trying to propagate, the SARA Bill meets with these international requirements NO ONE has a constitutional right to stolen property. Christopher Ram knows that Guyana is a money laundering haven. From his position as one of the major accounting firms in Guyana he knows this very well. He is aware of the cocaine problem, the gold smuggling problems, the use of illegal cash to build large real estate properties in Guyana and the general undermining of our economy and smaller businesses by the scourge of financial crimes.
If one were to calculate the value of 15,000 ounces of gold smuggled on a weekly basis this sums up to 750,000 ounces of gold per year and at an average value of just US$1000 per ounces (one must remember gold reached almost US$2000 per ounce during the peak years), this translates to US$750 million per year. Over a 10 year period, this is US$7.5 billion dollars. Guyana’s GDP is under US$4 billion per year. Guyana’s poverty rate would surely have been reduced if the Government had received its fair share of the royalties from this illegal act. Guyana’s 2017 budget is US$1.25 billion.
Christopher Ram also is quite aware of Guyana’s compromised legal system in which criminal charges can be delayed in courts for many years while the stolen assets, since they are not frozen, will be spent or disguised in the names of family and friends etc.
Christopher Ram also money laundering resulting from the conversion of stolen state assets is a national security issue. The Bank of America, the largest correspondent bank in the United States of America dealing with local banks, cut ties with several commercial banks in Guyana at the end of August 2016. Does Ram know why the Bank of Guyana exited Guyana? He has relationships with some of the banks in Guyana. Perhaps Ram should share his knowledge of this crisis with his endearing public as he is the good Samaritan fighting a bad Bill. With an oil economy, the last thing Guyana needs is a compromised banking system with the proceeds of crime deeply embedded in the system.
Indeed, the current situation in Guyana is one of crisis and is manifested in the shortage of U$ dollars etc. Just this week, US$175 million of drugs was found on a boat. Where does that money end up? Ram is fully aware the statement made by Professor Clive Thomas in his writings about the criminalization of Guyana State, namely: “There is the existence of a cabal or coterie of persons comprised mainly, but not exclusively, of selective crime bosses, state officials, security personnel, elements of the criminal justice system and political bosses, advisors and other insiders. The combination is unique and derives from the particular historical antecedents as well as social, economic and political circumstances in Guyana. This group as identified wields enormous power as well as commands considerate economic wealth.
As the ruling elite this group has placed itself above the reaches of domestic law while at the same time leading the political charge in Guyana for law, order, public safety and human security”. Ram, like the skilled lawyer and accountant he is, tries to segment the Bill to serve his own purpose. Is it to save face or to be smart with words? Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz shares with his students a strategy for successfully defending cases. If the facts are on your side, Dershowitz says, pound the facts into the table. If the law is on your side, pound the law into the table. If neither the facts nor the law are on your side, pound the table. Ram, stop pounding the table!
Eric Phillips

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