Extradited GRDB accountant released on High Court bail

Mar 17, 2019 News

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One week after, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan remanded Peter Ramcharran, a former accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to prison, Ramcharran’s lawyer was able to secure bail in the sum of $390,000 from the High Court.
Bail was granted by Justice Navindra Singh on Friday.
Ramcharran, 39, of Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, who was extradited by the Canadian courts, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on March 6, last where he was slapped with 39 fraud related charges and remanded to prison.
Ramcharran was charged for fraudulent conversion and misappropriation of funds that allegedly took place between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, and involving tens of millions of dollars.
The total is said to be over $400M, and he was not required to plead to the charges as they were all indictable.
This was after Guyana asked for his extradition to face the charges pertaining to his duties at GRDB, which was the executing agency for a major oil-for-rice deal worth billions with Venezuela.
That deal ended suddenly in 2015 by a hostile Venezuela after this Coalition Government came into office.
On Ramcharran’s first court appearance before the Chief Magistrate, he was asked to explain why he had been evading the courts.
In his response, Ramcharran stated, “I was not informed by any official of Guyana about these charges.”
His attorney moved to give context, as he stated his client learnt of an arrest warrant being issued for him through the public media. “My client had to learn of these charges and arrest warrant being issued by public media.
After learning of this, Mr. Ramcharran had no other option but to take conditions to prepare himself.”

However, Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor Patrice Henry told the court that Ramcharran was very much aware that he was wanted in Guyana.
His lawyer, Sase Gunraj in an attempt to get bail for his client had asked the court to treat his client like his other co-accused.
Prosecutor Henry had objected to bail being granted to the defendant on the ground that investigations are still ongoing, which may see other charges being brought.
Hence, the Chief Magistrate after listening to both sides remanded Ramcharran to prison on the ground that he had evaded the court, and as such, posed a flight risk.
He is expected to make his next court appearance on March 25.
Ramcharran is jointly charged along with former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh; former Deputy General Manager of GRDB Madanlall Ramraj; General Secretary of the Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj; former Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Nigel Dharamlall; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company Badrie Persaud and the Deputy Permanent Secretary Finance Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine.
In Canada, Ramcharran had first applied for refugee status. After he was turned down in December, he sought a review of his extradition process, but this was recently turned down.
In 2017, the Chief Magistrate had issued an arrest warrant for him.
The Government of Guyana in turn had asked the Canadian authorities to send Ramcharran back.
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.
According to information, the former accountant is heavily implicated in the probe concerning the six former GRDB board members who have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
Ramcharran had reportedly been studying in Canada, when authorities swooped down on him in June 2017 following a request for his extradition.
A forensic audit, one of several ordered by the Coalition Government, had found several alarming things at GRDB.
From about 2009 to 2015, Guyana, under the administrations of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, had entered a multi-billion-dollar oil-for-rice arrangement where GRDB was clearing out for farmers.
However, millions of dollars of those monies were reportedly siphoned off via third-party arrangements including rental of ships and other sweetheart deals for a few millers.
SOCU is investigating other aspects of the audit report.
With regards to extraditions, it is not often that Guyana is successful in its quests from especially North American countries.
The extradition of Ramcharran would be seen as a huge plus for authorities here who have been insisting that it is a tool in the fight against crime, particularly of the white-collar variety.

 

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