Cop charged with laundering money stolen from Police Force

Jan 06, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – A police corporal was on Thursday slapped with three counts of laundering millions he allegedly stole from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) back in 2019.

The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has been investigating the policeman identified as Rawl Richard Haynes of Lot 2 Hydronie, East bank Essequibo (EBE), some two years now for money laundering. Enough evidence was gathered against him and he was arraigned before Leonora Magistrate’s Court to face three money laundering charges. The charges were read to him by Magistrate Zameena Ali Seepaul.

Charge with laundering stolen money, Rawle Haynes.

It is alleged that on the April 7, 2020, Haynes ‘converted the sum $7M and $1M-proceeds from a crime respectively for part-payment of properties located at Lots 284 and 285 Block 8, Tuschen, ( EBD), with the aim of concealing the origin of the cash. The court heard too that on August 22, 2019, Haynes laundered some $2.9M of stolen money by purchasing a Toyota Allion Car with the number plate PYY 357. He pleaded not guilty to the offence and was granted $100,000 bail for each count of money laundering charge. Haynes is expected to return to court on January 25, 2023.

According to reports Haynes was among four high ranking officers charged in March 2021 with conspiracy to defraud GPF of some $19M dollars. The others allegedly involved in the scam to rob the force are Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kevin Adonis, and Sergeants Michael Corbin and Jermaine Fraser.

Investigations back then had revealed that Haynes with help from one of his alleged accomplices, Corbin, had on March 29, 2019 stolen $19M while being a public officer, employed with the force. Corbin allegedly assisted him to steal the cash by fraudulently entering electronic data into the Ministry of Finance’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), at GPF’s Eve Leary Headquarters for a $19M payment voucher.

SOCU had reportedly placed Haynes under its radar since 2020 and have been able to find out that he had conducted ‘a number of substantial cash based transactions’ between March 2019 and April 7, 2020. Haynes reportedly bought properties and cars worth millions of dollars but had registered them in someone else’s name. However, SOCU got its hands on official documents suggesting that the ownership of the cars and properties would be transferred to him after court matters pending against him are completed. SOCU has since been able to secure a restraining order to seize one of Haynes cars that was allegedly purchased with stolen money.