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Full Court orders GBTI to hand over documents to SOCU
Top ranking officials of GBTI who are embroiled in a court case
The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) was on Friday, ordered by Full Court judges Fidela Corbin-Lincoln and Nareshwar Harnanan, to hand over outstanding banking documents, in relation to one of the biggest fraud investigations, to the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
The Court also ruled that Section 24 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act does not prohibit the production of copies of the banker’s books.
The Court ordered GBTI to comply with an earlier ruling to hand over the documents, which were made by the court presided over by Justice Franklyn Holder. The Full Court has ordered the bank to hand over the documents by November 12 at 4:30 pm.
The bank also has to pay SOCU costs of $150,000.
SOCU has been asking the bank for the documents, which are part of investigations into the alleged falsification, forgery and larceny with respect to 28 transactions, involving in excess of $20M at the Guyana Gold Board.
The probe has led to the arrest of Deborah A. Forbes, Rosanna Ramnarine-Mangal and Keith Dyer. Forbes and Rosanna Ramnarine-Mangal have since been charged for the said offences.
Justices Corbin-Lincoln and Harnanan essentially ruled that the bank should comply with an earlier ruling made by Justice Franklyn Holder, who, acted in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financial Act.
Justice Holder had granted a Production Order direction GBTI to produce specific records of transactions, documents, which are relevant to identifying, locating or quantifying property (or tainted property as the case may be) or locating a document necessary for the transfer of such property (or tainted property), where a person is being investigated for a serious offence, money laundering.
GBTI, through its lawyer, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, appealed Justice Holder’s ruling to the Full Court.
In its appeal, among other things, the bank argued that Justice Holder erred in ordering documents to be produced, which are banker’s book, the production of which Section 24(2) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter the Financing of Terrorism Act’s prohibits.
According to the Act, the banker’s book is any ledger, daybook, cash book, account book, and any other book used in the ordinary business of a bank, and any electronic equipment or object on which particulars of any transaction made by the bank are stored.
However, SOCU, through its lawyer, Leslyn Noble submitted that the bank has not established any basis on which it has contended that this court ought to interfere with the finding of fact.
That is, the banking institution failed to satisfy Justice Holder that there are sufficient grounds to grant the said production order as the appellant’s grounds of appeal are misconceived and without merit.
Commenting on the favourable ruling, Noble said that GBTI and other banks are not entitled to the information presented to the court outlining SOCU’s reasons for investigating any person or entity.
She added that Production Order merely compels the Bank to deliver up certified copies of documents that it may possess in respect of its customer.
“In Fact, the Banking Institutions should be co-operating with the Law Enforcement Agencies (SOCU) to combat financial crimes. In fact, the Banks have an important role in ensuring the promotion of high ethical and professional standards in the financial sector,” Noble noted.
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