Former GM, Deputy of GRDB slapped with 34 additional charges

Oct 21, 2017 Features / Columnists, News

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As investigations continue into the operations of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) three former high ranking officials of GRDB were slapped with 34 additional fraud related charges, yesterday.
They were also released on $1M bail each by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, after they made an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, charged with failing to make proper entries into the company’s ledger.
The three officials charged are former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh; former Deputy General of GRDB and People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Member Madanlall Ramraj; and Peter Ramcharran, a former accountant, who is in custody in Canada, pending extradition.
Jagnarine Singh and Madanlall Ramraj were not required to plead to the 17 charges which alleged that between 2011 and 2012, at Lot 16-17 Cowan Street, Kingstown, they omitted to enter, or to make true entries of over $4.2 M into the company’s ledger, knowing that it was contrary to standard operation procedures.
The other 17 charges state that during the same time frame, the three officials are alleged to have fraudulently taken $5.1M or applied the money for their own use and benefit or any use and purpose, other than that of the GRDB.
The accused were not required to plead to the indictable charges after they were read to them by the Chief Magistrate.
The accused were all represented by Attorney-at-law, Glenn Hanoman. The lawyer requested that his clients be released on their own recognizance (self bail) since they are financially ruined.
The lawyer added that his clients have reported to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) over 20 times and it was late Thursday afternoon that they were informed to be in court yesterday.
Hanoman stressed that his clients are having a difficult time finding employment since the matters have been widely publicized.
Hanoman added that Jagnarine Singh and Madanlall Ramraj do not have an accountant background and during the periods of the charges his clients were not the accountants at GRDB.
Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor, Patrice Henry, had no objection to bail being granted to the accused, but asked that it be in a substantial amount citing the severity of the allegations.
The Chief Magistrate stipulated that the condition of the bail is that the two accused lodge their passports with the court until the completion of the trial.
Attorney Hanoman was opposed to his clients lodging their passports with the court. He said that his clients had made an application at the High Court and they were granted permission to keep their passports.
Hanoman further told the court that his clients are representatives of the Rice Producers Association, and they are required to travel overseas in order to seek market for rice.
Attorney Hanoman asked that the matter be adjourned until 2018, citing that it would be enough time for Ramcharran to make his appearance in court. The matter will be called up again on November 16, next.
Already, in one case, six former high-ranking officials of GRDB, including Jagnarine and Ramraj, have been charged and placed on $500,000 bail each for allegedly failing to make a proper entry into a register of a company with the intent to defraud $362M from the entity’s Republic Bank account.
The six officials also included General Secretary of the Producers Association (RPA) and PPP/C Member of Parliament, Dharamkumar Seeraj; former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and PPP/C Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company Badrie Persaud; and the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Finance Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine.
The accused all pleaded not guilty to the charges which alleged that between January 1 and December 31, 2012, with intent to defraud, they omitted or concurred to be omitted $77.3M from the general ledger of the GRDB’s Republic Bank account.
Similarly, between 2013, 2014 and 2015 with intent to defraud the entity, they are alleged to have omitted or concurred to be omitted from the said Republic Bank account, $9.7M, $130M and $145M for three respective years.
According to reports, Ramcharran knew that he was to appear in court on several different occasions to answer the charges.
A police source told Kaieteur News that when an arrest warrant is issued by the court, the police are informed and the necessary steps are taken to make the arrest.
With Ramcharran living in Canada the source explained that the arrest information for the charged accountant was passed to the International Police Organization (INTERPOL). The official explained that the arrest warrant is not an extradition request but this would be the next logical step.
According to information the former accountant is heavily implicated in the probe with regards to the six former GRDB board members that were previously charged.
The GRDB found itself in the spotlight after a forensic audit of that entity revealed among some of the “anomalies” found were loans without proper paperwork or promissory notes.
There were other instances of persons in the agency using GRDB money to trade in foreign currency.
This would be the second case, with SOCU expected to lay more charges in a number of other cases, involving billions of dollars.
GRDB is the agency that regulates the country’s rice industry, one of the top three foreign currency earners for Guyana.
SOCU is investigating the findings of a forensic audit report which was handed over to the police by the coalition Government several months ago.

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