Trevor Benn questioned over two more illegal land transactions

Mar 18, 2021 News

Former GL&SC boss, Trevor Benn.

Kaieteur News – Former Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Trevor Benn, was yesterday questioned by fraud investigators for two more illegal land transactions.
Just last Friday, he was placed before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and charged over an illegal land sale. Benn was released on $200,000 bail for a charge that alleges that he willfully misconducted himself while being a public officer.
He is accused of illegally leasing six acres of Ogle lands for a total of $27M to an engineering company. Based on investigations carried out so far, Benn had no authority to lease those lands.
As investigations continue into Benn’s alleged misconduct, Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, confirmed that investigators have since questioned him in relation to two new allegations.
Benn, while leaving the Eve Leary, Georgetown Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday, confirmed this development.
He even detailed what those allegations are about. According to Benn, he was questioned about the illegal leasing of a plot of land on Mandela Avenue for $100M and another along Aubrey Barker Road.
As it was in the case of the Ogle lands, investigators said that Benn had no authority to lease those lands.
The plot of land on Mandela Avenue that Benn was referring to might be the illegal leasing of the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) land to Cevons Waste Management.
Kaieteur News had reported on February 17 last that Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, had instructed Cevons’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Morse Archer, via letter, to vacate the premises.
The letter sent to Archer explained that the NSC still had control over the land and intended to use them.
However, it was noted that the land was leased to Cevons for a large sum of money pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). That MoU was signed between the company and the former GL&SC Commissioner, Benn.
Cevons after securing the illegal transaction then went on to sublease the said State property to oil company Sol Guyana Inc., and Corum Restaurant Holdings, which owns and operates fast food franchises including Church’s Chicken and Mario’s Pizza.
In the letter, Nandlall explained that neither GL&SC nor Benn had the authority to lease the land. Hence, the entire transaction is an illegal one which renders both the lease to Cevons and the sublease to the other companies null and void.
As a result, the letter outlined, that Cevons must vacate the property on or before March 31. Should it fail to do so, it could face court actions.
The AG also indicated that the illegal transaction is a criminal offence and it will be reported to police at the CID headquarters.

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