Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
GBTI’s chief, John Tracey, proceeds on leave
Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), John Tracey, has proceeded on leave as the institution continues to reel from a major fraud.
GBTI’s CEO, John Tracey
Multiple sources said that Tracey, a long-time banker who has been leading the institution since 2009 as CEO, went off last week.
It is unclear whether his leaving was as a result of the $950M fraud that occurred last month at the Bartica branch of the bank.
The fraud, which involved a police investigation and charges, has also sparked a major probe of money laundering by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), an arm of the police.
The loss for the bank from the fraud would be a significant one and would reportedly represent almost three financial quarters of profit, officials in the financial industry say.
It is unclear whether the monies were insured as bank officials are tightlipped over the incident which has rocked shareholders.
However, legal experts indicated that even if the money in the bank was insured, if it is found that negligence by the bank played a role, no insurance company would be willing to make any payouts.
Bartica gold dealer, Saddiqi ‘Bobby’ Rasul, was arrested earlier this month by police, charged and placed on $3M bail for the alleged fraud.
It is alleged that last month, he deposited Citizens Bank cheques to his GBTI Bartica branch account.
However, the female bank manager did not exercise due diligence in ensuring that the cheques that came from Citizens Bank could be honored.
Instead, she authorized payments to Rasul and his workers for over $950M.
GBTI was left in the hole after the cheques bounced.
The GBTI bank manager was sent home and is presently being investigated.
It would be one of the biggest banking frauds in the country.
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