Magistrate dismisses $10M fraud charges against serving, retired police officers

Dec 28, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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…attorney laments misuse of authority

Kaieteur News – More than two years after six senior retired and three serving senior Police Officers were jointly charged with conspiracy to defraud, the case was on Wednesday dismissed by Magistrate Rhondel Weever.

Magistrate Weever dismissed the case against Assistant Police Commissioner, Royston Andries-Junor, Senior Superintendent of Police, Marcelene Washington, Assistant Superintendent, Marlon Kellman and retired senior Officers Paul Slowe, Clinton Conway, George Fraser, Mark Gilbert, Claude Whittaker and Michael Sutton.

The charges were brought against the defendants by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), an arm of the GPF.

The joint charge alleged that Slowe, Conway, Whittaker, Fraser, Gilbert, Andries-Junor, Washington, Sutton and Kellman between March 1, 2019 and July 7, 2020, at the police headquarters, Eve Leary, conspired together with others to defraud the GPF of $10,056,000. The charge further alleges that Slowe, Conway, Whittaker, Fraser and Gilbert were paid the sum of $10,056,000, without following the correct procedures, in allegedly reviewing the Force’s Standing Orders.

The Prosecution asserted that a team of Policy Analysts from the Strategic Planning Unit of the Guyana Police Force conducted the review of the 2002 Guyana Police Force’s Standing Orders between July and August 2018. They argued that no written agreement or contract existed between the defendants and the Police Force.

However, Magistrate Weever sided with the Defence Attorneys’ no-case submission. The Magistrate ruled that the evidence presented by Prosecution witnesses contradicted their own case regarding whether an agreement existed between the defendants and the Police Force for revising the Standing Orders.

According to the Magistrate, the evidence indicated that the review of the Force’s Standing Orders was carried out by retired Officers, and the Commissioner of Police at the time was aware of their involvement. She found no evidence suggesting unauthorized arrangements or unapproved services provided to the Police Force.

Additionally, the Magistrate highlighted that specific documents, including a Memorandum detailing the retired officers’ work hours and related materials, were in the possession of the SOCU but were not disclosed to the Court. This raised concerns about SOCU’s conduct, as critical evidence was not presented by the Prosecution.

Emphasizing the lack of evidence supporting any conspiracy or fraudulent agreement between the accused and the Police Force, the Magistrate concluded that the Prosecution failed to establish its case on all aspects, and upheld the no-case submission.

SOCU alleged that their investigation had revealed that retired Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, solely hired Slowe, Conway, Whittaker, Gilbert and Fraser, to conduct a complete revision of the Force’s Standing Orders during March 2019. It was noted that the former Commissioner, had failed to prepare a budget for the revision and also did not make any contractual agreements specifying what needed to be revised and the terms of payment for the job.

It is alleged by SOCU that the then Police Commissioner, never sent for nor received approval from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Security nor the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The payments amounted to over ten million dollars. As such it should have been budgeted and sent to Tender Board for approval.

SOCU had further alleged that the Force’s Standing Orders comprise of 104 orders and it was discovered that the former officers were reportedly paid for the job but had not completed the revision. Moreover, according to reports the Orders that they were hired to revise, had already been revised in its entirety during the period July 2018 and March 2019, by the policy analysts of the Strategic Planning Unit (SPU).

Additionally, it was alleged by SOCU, that the former Head of the Strategic Planning Unit (SPU), Assistant Commissioner Andries-Junor, had instructed for payment accounts to be prepared for each ex-lawmen from March 2019. Andries-Junor was later transferred from SPU during November 2019, but before moving, he had instructed the new head, Nicola Kendall, to continue making payments to the accounts for the retired officers – Kendall had reportedly done as she was instructed until February 2020. Notably, Conway had told this publication, that they were paid $3,000 per hour and that the payment stopped after Kendall informed him and others that they were instructed not to do any more work on the Standing Orders until the pandemic is over. The retired officers reportedly reviewed 68 Standing Orders.

For his part, Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd who was part of the defence team, addressed the unsettling trend of levying charges without due process, shedding light on the shortcomings within the judicial landscape.

“The persons who are responsible for the instituting of those charges are not really concerned about a conviction at all,” he said.

Todd further expressed concern over the apparent misuse of charges as tools to stifle voices or instill fear, rather than seeking genuine justice.

“My concern goes way beyond that. My concern is that these matters at some point in time, would have had to receive advice, whether it’s advice from the police legal adviser or advice from the from the Director of Public Prosecutions office…And I’m looking at the statements and I’m saying I am in doubt that any person with legal training, looked at these files and recommended these charges. Because clearly no witness in this case connected to the elements of the offense.” A deeply concerned Todd added.

Drawing attention to the meticulous process of charging individuals, Todd emphasized the significance of both evidential and public interest tests, which he argued were not diligently applied in certain cases. He underscored the necessity for complete disclosure of facts, lamenting the absence of this crucial aspect in a particular case.

Todd meticulously deconstructed  the case, pointing out discrepancies between witness testimonies and statements, thereby questioning the foundation of the prosecution’s case. He highlighted the inability of the prosecution to establish a prima facie case, emphasizing the absence of critical elements supporting the charges.

“The magistrate left no stone unturned and she showed clearly how this could not be right. It could not be right. There was not even one limb that the prosecution was able to have success. They (the prosecution) failed so miserably,” the lawyer said.

Todd’s critique extended to the prosecution’s flawed arguments, notably emphasizing the lack of vital documents and the questionable basis upon which the case was built. He condemned the misuse of authority, asserting that the case relied on inadequate premises and lacked substantial evidence.

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• Assistant Superintendent, Magistrate Rhondel Weever, Marcelene Washington, Marlon Kellman, retired  police officers, Senior Superintendent of Police

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