Jagdeo finally found Su

Nov 17, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

…served him with lawsuit

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo has finally been able to locate his former friend and tenant, Zhi Rong Su – a Chinese businessman, who one year-ago implicated him (Jagdeo) in bribery and corruption.

Chinese Businessman, Zhi Rong Su

Su had disclosed to VICE News reporters posing as Chinese investors that Jagdeo took “cash bribes” for multimillion dollar contracts and that he was his middle man. VICE News on July 7, 2022 premiered a documentary with its findings.

In the documentary, Jagdeo called Su “a good friend of ours” and his tenant during an interview with one of the VICE news reporters. However, when the full documentary was aired and Jagdeo learnt of the corruption allegations against him, he threatened to sue that same “good friend” for $50M for defaming his character but reportedly could not find him to serve the lawsuit. One year and months later, Jagdeo revealed that he has found Su.

At his weekly press-conference on Thursday, Kaieteur News asked for an update on Su and he responded, “I-I yeah, yes it was filed and I think it should be heard very soon in court… I am hoping for an early (Court) date”. Pressed further to find out if he was finally able to locate the Chinese businessman, Jagdeo said, “Yes he was served”.

According to legal documents seen by this publication, Jagdeo through his attorneys, Manoj Narayan and C.V. Satram, outlined that the statements made by Mr. Su that were contained in the news broadcast clearly imputed criminal and unlawful conduct on the part of the Vice President. The attorneys had described the statements made by Mr. Su as “defamatory and slanderous.” The lawsuit outlined that the said words were calculated to disparage Mr. Jagdeo personally and in the office he now holds.

According to the lawsuit, owing to the statements that were aired in the documentary, Jagdeo has suffered public condemnation, humiliation, ridicule, and embarrassment. Additionally, the legal document noted the statements have caused serious injury to the Vice President’s reputation and his political standing locally and internationally.

In Vice News undercover investigation, the Chinese businessman was recorded saying that bribes would have to be paid to the Vice President for them to be guaranteed contracts in Guyana. He could be heard on the recording too telling the team that Jagdeo only accepts “cash.”

The documentary also showed that Su took the “fake Chinese investors to Jagdeo’s home to meet him. The documentary was viewed by thousands of Guyanese in Guyana and the diaspora. Additionally, the extended YouTube edition of the report has attracted more than two million views to date.

Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo

Jagdeo’s defence is that he had repeatedly denied the allegations in the extended news report which was aired on the US television network Showtime and posted on YouTube. The allegations had triggered calls by a number of civil society groups and the Opposition for there to be a full independent investigation of the serious corruption allegations, which have all been denied by Vice President Jagdeo.

“Vice News came into my house to catch me doing something illegal and taking a bribe… and you couldn’t do that in my most unguarded moment…They have done this around the world with leaders they got taking bribes… they are never going to find anything of that nature with me,” Jagdeo had said.

Jagdeo had said too that he was not conducting official government business at his home but was rather meeting with an investor of Su. “Su did not get anything special here and it was not a government project, it was his investor he wanted me to meet.”

Notably Su, the man Jagdeo had described in the documentary as a “friend” has amassed a significant portion of mineral-rich land under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration. Su holds some 12,000 acres of precious stones and gold-rich lands under his name. This information is provided in the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI) documents.