Jordan welcomes Auditor General’s probe of secret US$18M signing bonus

Dec 15, 2017 News

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan yesterday said that he welcomes the decision of the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma to probe the US$18 million signing bonus provided by oil giant ExxonMobil to Government.

The funds and the surrounding circumstances drew the attention of the Auditor General when a leaked letter addressed to Central Bank Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga, and dated September 20, 2016, surfaced last Friday.

Finance Secretary, Dr. Hector Butts, made it clear in the correspondence that the Bank of Guyana should not treat the money as part of its reserves. The letter showed that a request was made for the opening of a foreign currency account to receive a signing bonus from ExxonMobil.

Jordan emphasised that the Auditor General’s Office is independent, and added, “I welcome his [Sharma] sudden enthusiasm since this Government has come to power”.

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram was first to come public that Government had received a signing bonus.

At the time, Ram had claimed the amount to be US$20 million. Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, and Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman never admitted to the existence of the bonus despite being asked repeatedly by the press corps.

Trotman was copied in the letter sent to the Bank of Guyana.

President Granger on Wednesday took responsibility for making the decision to secretly hold the funds in the Bank of Guyana. He said that the money is for a legitimate exercise – to be used for certain matters which Government perceives to be of national security interest.

Trotman had indicated that the money is being kept to assist Guyana with its border controversy with Venezuela.

The President had indicated that as far as he is concerned the funds are to be used legitimately by Government and it has not been dishonestly acquired. He stated that it will not be used for purposes for which it is not intended.

“At that point in time it was the thing to do, so we can have access in the event of a national security emergency,” Granger stated.

He said that there was no intention to deceive, but there was no need to make the transaction public.

Since the Ministry of Finance letter surfaced, Ram has called for the intervention of the police and an apology from Granger. The Chartered Accountant noted that the forced admission by the government is a shocking revelation of a conspiracy to deceive the people of Guyana about billions of dollars, involving a galaxy of ministers.

He said that there are immediate and longer term implications for Guyana, including a violation of Article 216 of the Constitution of Guyana.

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