Brazilian brothers charged for failing to keep gold records

Jul 27, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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Kaieteur News – Two Brazilian brothers were on Friday charged for failing to keep records of the gold they buy in Port Kaituma and Eyelash, North West District, Region One and Georgetown, Region Four.

The brothers, Orisvaldo De Oliveira Moura and Sabastiao De Oliveira Moura were charged following investigations by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

Orisvaldo De Oliveira Moura, according to police, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh, where the charge of ‘Failure to Keep and Produce a Book to an Officer of the Board or to another person authorized by the Board’ was read to him.

He pleaded not guilty and was placed on $100,000 bail. The matter was transferred to Port Kaituma Magistrates’ Court where he will appear on August 15, 2024.

His brother Sabastiao De Oliveira Moura also appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ but before Principal Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty where the same charge was read to him. He also pleaded not guilty.

Sabastiao was granted $50,000 bail and is expected to return to court in Georgetown on August 16, 2024.

Police said that according to SOCU’s head, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Fazal Karimbaksh, the brothers have been operating under a registered business that has three locations; one in Georgetown, one in Eyelash Backdam and one in Port Kaituma Water Front, North West District, Region One.

Reports indicate that all these locations were buying ‘precious stones’ without maintaining the requisite records, police said.

Ranks from SOCU, in collaboration with officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) conducted searches on their business premises and discovered a large quantity of gold and cash.

The brothers were unable to produce the relevant documents to prove their purchases so the ranks arrested them and confiscated all of their gold and cash.

Their arrest comes one month after the Government instructed jewellers, goldsmiths and gold dealers to keep records of who they sell gold to.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat had made this known during a meeting on June 19 last with the stakeholders at the Roraima Duke Lodge located in Kingston, Georgetown. The minister was joined by the Head of the of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Newell Dennison and the Guyana Gold Board’s (GGB) General Manager, Eondrene Thompson.

During the discussion, Bharrat said, “The other thing that we need to introduce with your system, your collaboration, is the issue of people bringing gold to you” before adding, “There must be some form of record keeping, there must be some record keeping”.

He stressed that records must be kept for the importance of “traceability”. According to the Bharrat, some systems are already in place to ensure that this is done.

“If that becomes a criterion, for your licence, then you have your records to show to GGMC”, he said.

“You have to ensure that systems are in place, I can only put systems in place to ensure that you comply with the law…We have that system in place where you must have that log book to show that you have received x, y, z … 1, 2 ounces of gold,” continued the Natural Resources Minister.

The move to implement the record keeping system came after Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo at one of his weekly press conferences said his government is concerned about the continuous decline in gold declaration over the years.

At the meeting, the natural resources minister reminded the stakeholders that the decline began after 2016.  While he told the stakeholders, that extreme weather conditions might have contributed to low gold production in recent years, Jagdeo at his press conference said that smuggling is also responsible too.

He had issued a stern warning that all those involved in the smuggling and under-declaring of gold will face the full brunt of the law once they are caught.

So far a six-month long undercover probe by SOCU has managed to bring down a Chinese gold smuggling ring operating in Guyana. Prior to that, two women and a man were busted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Tuesday June 4 with US$560,000 (GYD$117,001,604) gold disguised as silver plated jewellery.

Those individuals were charged with the offence of Exporting  Gold without a Licence – in contravention of Section 8 of the Guyana Gold Board Act, Chapter 66:01, contrary to section 23 (a) of the said Guyana Gold Board Act, Chapter 66:01 and are out on $600,000 bail each.

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• Brazilian Brothers, gold records, Orisvaldo De Oliveira Moura, Sabastiao De Oliveira Moura, SOCU

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