Certain Timehri airport employees were criminally involved with Khemraj Lall

Sep 04, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I have been waiting for approximately 2 years for the coalition government to deliver on transparency, good governance and transparency as well as combating the scourge of drug smuggling and money laundering in Guyana. I must congratulate the coalition government on the signing of the Anti Money Laundering Bill and the roll out of several initiatives to combat many illegal activities in Guyana. We are certainly heading in the right direction.
The one extremely sensitive area that I was expecting the coalition government to deal with immediately was the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). It was one of the most corrupt and compromised corporations under the former Government which saw frequent cocaine busts and obscene connections to US convicted bulk cash smuggler, Khemraj Lall.
Certain employes at the airport had an extremely cozy and unnatural relationship with Lall. A review of the Forensic Audit Report shows several disgraceful improprieties between the airport and Lall’s company; benefit flowed which I will list below as a reminder of the serious connections between the two parties:
– Application for lease was not discussed at Board level
– Proposal for lease was submitted directly to the Minister of Public Works
– File maintained for Exec Jet Club file contained limited information
– Letters pertaining to the request for lease written by an official of CJIA on behalf of Exec Jet Club not valid
– A certain person of CJIA’s Finance Department was power of attorney for Exec Jet Club
– Management aware that a CJIA employee was doing part time work for Kaylees Gas Station
– Lease for hangar was signed between senior administration officials representing CJIA and an employee of CJIA representing Exec Jet Club on 15th October 2012
– The CJIA was used an address for Exec Jet Club
– CJIA employee attached to Lall’s company promoted by CJIA
– Employee of CJIA was recommended by the Minister of Public Works to be fired for conflict of interest after it became public knowledge that he was power of attorney for Exec Jet Club in November 2014
– Said employee resigned with effect from January 2015
– Senior management officials were not aware that said employee was power of attorney for Exec Jet Club and Kaylees Gas Station
The above mentioned blatant violations and documented deep relationship between the airport and Lall; it was no secret. Lall was allowed so many excesses and privileges at the airport – all blatantly permitted by airport personnel. This must not be forgotten by the coalition government and persons must be held accountable for their illegal activities and any violation of the airport’s Code of Conduct.
The coalition government has had ample time to deal with certain employees at the airport and they should be held accountable. Since a pledge was made to eradicate corruption and illegal activities. This should start with a house cleaning of any of the airport’s personnel tied to Lall and it should show the moral fortitude to fight illegal activities at the airport.
I am not advocating that anyone should be wrongfully fired. However, the relationship between US convicted bulk cash smuggler and these employees of the airport was so well known, documented, blatant and obvious there should be accountability and an detailed investigation by the coalition government. I will end saying that Lall was an untouchable at the airport and all his well organized activities were protected by the certain people of the airport.
I urge the President to establish a Commission of Inquiry to examine the role between the organized activities of Lall and the airport. Where there is smoke there is fire. The airport’s Board should then carefully screen the future applicants for the management at the airport to ensure there are no personal connections or relationships to known money launderers, drug smugglers and other characters involved in illegal activities.
The Khemraj Lall fiasco was a national disgrace and systems should be in place to ensure it never reoccurs. An updated Code of Conduct should be established for airport’s management and employees to prevent a repeat of the Khemraj Lall fiasco. Three years after the arrest of Lall, the airport’s management remains intact with no personnel changes and nobody being held accountable. Persons shouldn’t be allowed to explain away their Lall relationships as a mistake in judgement or they didn’t know.
There was transnational criminal activity at a significant level with financials rewards and tangible benefits for those involved and the Guyana network remains intact with no arrests or convictions. This network remains intact to embarrass the airport’s board, Government of Guyana and the country in the future as they plot using the airport as the illegal platform for criminal activities. We mustn’t fool ourselves this was a criminal empire with transnational links and airport personnel seem involved. The failure to deal with the airport’s Khemraj Lall fiasco sends the wrong message.
Vibert Craig

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