Feds charge prominent Guyanese for money laundering

A prominent Guyanese businessman has been charged by the US Feds for money laundering. The businessman, Haresh Narine ‘Chinee’ Sugrim, who imports heavy duty mining and other equipment, was detained at the JFK Airport on Tuesday and read money laundering charges the following day. The businessman, who has operations and properties in Berbice and Demerara, is reportedly being accused of laundering US$500,000. He was placed on US$1M bail following his appearance in the New York court. According to reports, Sugrim travelled to Florida on Monday on business. On Tuesday, he took a flight to New York. It was while he was in the parking lot, outside of JFK Airport, that he was approached by officers from Nassau County. He was later handed over to the agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Relatives of the well-known Government supplier of equipment parts, including excavators and road-making machines, said that the matter is all a misunderstanding that would be cleared up. They said that a few months ago, Sugrim and a close friend in New York decided to buy a property there. Monies taken from Guyana, in cash and cheques and declared at the airports, were deposited in  the bank account of the friend in New York. However, the FBI was alerted to the cash deposits, which amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars and pulled the friend in for questioning. The feds wanted to know the origins of the monies. The friend reportedly said the monies belonged to the businessman. According to relatives, Sugrim is a well-known businessman who has holdings in Guyana and can substantiate where the money came from. It is expected that Sugrim’s lawyers will now move to produce evidence to support Sugrim’s arguments that the monies came from legitimate transactions