Ponzi scheme owners still in custody as cops visit their home

Aug 25, 2020 News

In custody: Yuri Garcia Dominguez and wife Ateeka Ishmael.

As investigators continued their probe into an alleged multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme involving Accelerated Capital Inc., its two principals, Yuri Garcia Dominguez and Ateeka Ishmael, remain in custody.
Investigators are zeroing in on how and if the money taken from investors ever left Guyana and whether due diligence was conducted to determine if money collected came from legit sources.The latter is important as the country has tough international anti-money laundering laws.
Yesterday, as the 72-hour maximum period for keeping suspects in custody expired, lawyers were desperately attempting to get bail.
However, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, was concerned in ensuring that there are no attempts to flee and that there are measures in place for “victims” to receive reimbursement.
Garcia-Dominguez is reportedly assuring investigators that he has the means to wire the money down but he cannot do so while in jail.

My hands are clean: Former Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix

The Bank of Guyana has already waded into the matter.
Based on the Bank of Guyana investigation, it appears that several banks, including Bank of Baroda; Republic Bank; Demerara Bank Limited and the Guyana Bank For Trade and Industry have all closed the accounts of Accelerated.
Based on the transaction history, the accounts did not contain many transactions as is being reported. Definitely not billions. At one time, the highest balance at Bank of Baroda was $14.6M.
“Previous accounts at commercial banks showed transactions, including foreign exchange transactions, which were small and insignificant.”
So how did billions of dollars left Guyana?
It was not through the banking system. Garcia-Dominguez has an explanation. He says that the cash was paid to locals for bitcoins- bitcoins are digital currency.
Bitcoins?
Of course, this is raising concerns for authorities. If the scheme was legit, why use bitcoins
The operations of Accelerated seemed to have roped in several prominent businessmen and women who believed that they were investing in something legit. From small business owners, to ordinary workers, persons were buying in for the high returns.
The Guyana Securities Council (GSC), police and other authorities met with Attorney-General Nandlall last week on the matter.
The GSC said it had published notices since last year and then earlier this year after it became aware that Accelerated was not registered.
In fact, it was only recently that Accelerated attempted to register as a broker.
The matter had also dragged in former Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, after it became known that the Cuban national became a citizen of Guyana in June.
In a statement yesterday, Felix, a former Commissioner of Police, denied that he and then Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, under the APNU+AFC administration, were informed about the suspected illegal investment (pyramid scheme) after publications were seen in the newspapers giving notice that Garcia-Dominguez had applied to the Minister of Citizenship for naturalization in Guyana.
“Let me say in clear and unambiguous terms that while I cannot speak for the former Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, I cannot recall ever receiving information in any format, whether orally or in writing, from the Guyana Securities Commission (GSC) in connection with a person named… as Dominguez involvement in a Ponzi scheme.”
He said he did recall receiving a letter dated 2019.08.28 from his superior. “Attached to this letter was an anonymous and undated letter in which allegations of illegal financial trading were undertaken by certain Cuban nationals married to Guyanese and seeking to use that relationship to secure naturalisation in Guyana…”
Felix says
He said he sent the correspondence to the police commissioner for a possible investigation.
“I had instructed my staffers that the application by Garcia-Dominguez and any other person associated with him should be put on pause until such time that the police investigation was completed. I am satisfied that my instructions were given due adherence…”
Felix pointed out that it seems that Garcia-Dominguez had married a Guyanese and according to the provisions of the Constitution of Guyana, sought citizenship through naturalization.
“This application was under investigation and he was advised that he is required to publish his application for naturalisation in two separate issues of newspapers circulating in the district in which he lives to elicit any negative information of his character. Dominguez did comply and had a notice of his application for naturalisation published in one of the daily newspapers. These activities occurred prior to the application being put on pause.”
Felix said that the Department of Citizenship did not receive any response from this notice. “May I restate that since this Dominguez’ notice of his application for naturalisation was published in the newspapers, the Department did not receive any letter from the Guyana Securities Commission in this connection. I acted on the letter I received from my superior.”
He said that he did receive a letter dated 2020-04-17, seven months after the investigation commenced, that following advice from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), “this matter be treated as closed and that Yuri Garcia Dominguez and Laicy Garcia Pedroso continue the process of applying for citizenship.”
He said that as there were no other restraining circumstances to necessitate official action to prevent the naturalisation process, Garcia-Dominguez’ naturalisation form was signed on 12th June, 2020, just about two months after the DPP “treated the matter as closed”.
“It is unfortunate that except for an anonymous letter none of the seventeen thousand Guyanese (17,000) affected by the ‘Ponzi’ scheme responded to the letter published in the daily newspapers. It seems to me that the investigators were deprived of essential information necessary to build a strong case against the alleged perpetrator(s) but to ascribe blame or attempt to do so on specious grounds enveloped in falsity will not provide credible answer(s) to the issues involved in this matter,” the former minister said in his statement.