AG signals investigation into Larry London’s birth certificate scandal

Sep 23, 2020 News

The Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, yesterday requested the Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma to launch an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the US $150,000 awarded to longtime stalwart and executive of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC), Larry London by the APNU+AFC administration to print birth certificates.

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

The AG’s request followed after the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira had revealed to the National Assembly on Monday that the former government had awarded $30M to a barely discernible US- registered company, Universal Procurement Services Incorporated, for the procurement of 20,000 birth certificates during the period 2019-2020.
What is further alarming, the Minister told the House, is that the contract was signed by London who was later discerned to be the head of the company, registered in the State of Florida.
London was recently caught at the centre of political controversy, as Kaieteur News had reported, wherein he, once listed as co-owner of the controversial Homestretch Development Incorporated, the company behind the D’Urban Park Project, was given a mystery job by the previous Granger administration.
Operating under the designation listed as ‘Director of Public Parks’, London was in receipt of a net salary of $500,000 monthly, along with additional perks being footed by the state, including home security services, a personal driver and car, as well as duty free allowances and a 22½% gratuity twice yearly, despite the fact that he was overseas-based and seldom returned to Guyana.
Based on a letter dispatched to the Auditor General by Nandlall, he wrote that “the Government of Guyana wished to, immediately, commission a Forensic Audit into the facts and

Director of Public Works, President and Secretary of Universal Procurement Services Incorporated, Larry London

circumstances surrounding a US $150,000 contract entered into by the Department of Citizenship/ Ministry of the Presidency and Universal Procurement Services Inc., a Florida profit corporation of 15221 SW 20th Street Miramar, Florida 33027, in respect of the procurement of approximately 100,000 birth certificates, as was disclosed in the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly, during its consideration of the Estimates of Expenditure for the years 2019 and 2020.”
Nandlall indicated that the audit should forensically examine whether there was compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Act, and if not, the reasons for the non-compliance; reasons why the services of the conventional publisher of these documents were not sought; had the services of the conventional publisher of these documents retained, what the estimated costs would have been to print and publish the said documents; what is the status of the company contracted at the time of the contract; what was/ is the main line of business; what experience it possesses in relation to the similar work; what due diligence was conducted prior to the award of the contract; was there a need for 100,000 birth certificates forms at the time when the contract was entered into; comparatively, what was the quality of the documents procured.
It should be noted that investigations conducted by Kaieteur News indicate that the company, Universal Procurement Services Incorporated, is filed as a Domestic for Profit Corporation. What is alarming, however, is that data shows that the 13-year- old company is no longer active, as recorded in documents filed with the Florida Department of State.
According to Corporation Wiki, there are a few officers known to have been associated with this organization, with London as the man leading the company’s operations. Information on this site further explicitly states that London held the position of President and Secretary, with Donna London as President; Roger Simon as Director; Victor D. Wilson as Secretary; and Lyndon Rohlehr and Diedre Downer serving as Directors.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News