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Criminal charges against Glenn Lall, others file
SIX criminal charges, altogether, have been filed against Glenn Lall, publisher of the local Kaieteur News, his wife, Bhena Lall, and Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan.
The charges follow the seizure of two vehicles allegedly at the centre of a duty-free scam. The two vehicles in question, PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, were handed over to GRA and impounded at the Authority’s warehouse, at the end of August, after an hour’s-long standoff between GRA officials and the Brijnanans’ son, Sankar, a high-ranking GRA employee.
An investigation was then launched to ensure that procedures and policy, as well as the provisions of the law were adhered to. The criminal charges, this newspaper understands, stem from that investigation.
SIX CHARGES
The six charges, according to documents seen by the Guyana Chronicle, which first broke the story of the alleged duty-free scam, after an examination of the Government of Guyana’s review of the Remigrant Scheme, state that:
1. All four parties were knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of import duties of Customs on vehicle, PRR 8398, contrary to Section 218(e) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.
2. All four parties were knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of import duties of Customs on vehicle, PRR 8399, contrary to Section 218(e) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.
3. Glenn Lall and Bhena Lall, knowingly dealt with goods with intent to defraud the revenue of duties thereon to wit one (1) Lexus LX 570 Motor Vehicle registration number PRR 8398 with engine capacity 5700 cc, Chassis No. JTJHY7AX6 D4094851, contrary to Section 218(d) of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01
4. Glenn Lall and Bhena Lall, knowingly dealt with goods with intent to defraud the revenue of duties thereon to wit one (1) Lexus LX 570 Motor Vehicle registration number PRR 8399 with engine capacity 5700 cc, Chassis No. JTJHY7AX6 D4094851, contrary to Section 218(d) of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01.
5. Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan did make and subscribe to a false declaration in a matter relating to the Customs, contrary to Section 217(1)(a) of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01, involving a vehicle PRR 8398
6. Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan did make and subscribe to a false declaration in a matter relating to the Customs, contrary to Section 217(1)(a) of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01, involving a vehicle PRR 8399.
The charges are expected to be read and heard at the Georgetown Magistrates Court on October 13, 2014.
DETAILS DISCLOSED
The seizure of the vehicles and the resulting investigation followed the disclosure of details of the alleged duty-free scam, which were made public by the Guyana Chronicle after an examination of the Government of Guyana’s review of the Remigrant Scheme.
The vehicle, PRR 8398, for instance, is usually parked in front of the Kaieteur News head office on Saffon Street, Charlestown, while PRR 8399 is often seen on Regent Street, in the heart of the city, near Bhena’s Footwear, the shoe business operated by Lall’s wife.
The Chronicle was able to obtain copies of all the relevant documents, from the application to, and approval by, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, GRA, and shipping information.
According to our sources, this issue started with the Brijnanans, who were on July 3, 2013 granted permission by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to return to Guyana as “remigrants”, along with the concomitant incentives of the scheme.
Under the remigrant programme, Guyanese who would have resided overseas for more than five years and are returning home to reside are entitled to several benefits, among which are import duty-free waivers for vehicles, and tax exemption for household items, once the items at reference were owned for six months or more in the country where the remigrant was living.
As husband and wife, Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan were entitled to concessions as two separate individuals, although a joint application was submitted.
Duty-free concession, the Guyana Chronicle understands, is awarded on condition that “the motor vehicle cannot be leased or transferred within three years of registration, and providing that the registration licence, fitness and registration and insurance are submitted for inspection at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) every six months.”
The Brijananans, on their application form, indicated that besides household items, they were returning with two 2013 Lexus Suburban L57 vehicles, the chassis numbers of which were listed along with other required information.
On the application form, the chassis numbers for the vehicles were listed as JTJHY7AX7D4100270 and JTJHY7AX6D4094851, with the registration dates in the State of New York being September 25, 2012 and March 3, 2013 correspondingly.
However, on the Bill of Lading for the vehicles, the chassis numbers were listed as JTJHY7AX6D4096745 and JTJHY7AX6D4094851, respectively, a clear indication that one of the numbers did not correspond with the chassis number on the application form.
Further, for the vehicle bearing chassis number JTJHY7AX6D4094851, it was noticed that the date on the New York-issued Certificate of Title was March 3, 2013, which could only mean that the vehicle was not owned for more than six months before the application was made by the Brijnanans.
If true, this would be a clear violation of the regulation surrounding the application for remigrant status and duty-free concession. In essence, what would have occurred, according to documents perused by the Guyana Chronicle, is that the Brijnanans successfully obtained import duty concession in the sum of $4,222, 223.55 for each vehicle, totalling in excess of $8M.
Meanwhile, this newspaper’s research into the source price for a Lexus L570 is about US$80,000. Import duty for such a vehicle would be a total of US$94,500, bringing the total value of the vehicle to US$174,500, or more than G$36M for each of the vehicles imported by the Brijnanans.
It appears, therefore, that the Government was cheated out of several millions in import duty for the two vehicles.