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PNCR Executive collects US$1M for flipped lands at Peters Hall

Massive land scandal

…Chinese national subleased 30 acres for $100GYD

The massive conspiracy to give away prime State lands, by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, continues to come to light with documents now showing that a People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Executive collected US$1 million for lands at Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall revealed that the Government is going ahead with its promised investigations into the giveaway of prime State lands during the APNU/AFC Administration. He revealed that almost 50 acres of land were practically given away, through three different agreements, at Peters Hall by the then Government through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
The PNC Executive at the centre of the questionable transactions was listed as the lawyer on record for the drafting of the three contracts.
The AG revealed that in one instance, 20 acres of land was leased for 20 years to a company with its address listed as Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown.
The lands referred to as Plots A1, A2, A3, and A4 amounted to 20.8 acres, which were not valuated prior to the signing of the lease on May 9, 2018, for an annual fee of US$16,224.
The land was later sold to a company connected to the oil and gas industry for US$1 million, which did not go to the owner, rather to the attorney on record.
Nandlall said that the address for the company is the same address that the PNC Executive has listed on his bank account as his place of residence.
“The money is paid into the account of the lawyer and it is the very lawyer who draft these leases – paid into the account of the lawyer at a commercial bank…2 payments totalling US$1 million in a commercial bank (account with) the lawyer name and his address – Third Street, Alberttown – at the bank,” Nandlall said.
He said that as the Government continues with the review of all the land transactions, they are finding that the APNU/AFC flouted all processes used to lease or divest lands owned by the State. He added that there was a public process whereby members of the public would have been invited to either express an interest or put in a bid or make an offer to buy lands.
“There is no principle governing or evidence of any principle governing how the prices were determined. There is no valuation certificate on record, there is no market value assessment done or at least there is no evidence of it anywhere. So, one does not know how a particular price was arrived at for these lands,” he explained.
In instances where the lands were gifted away, the AG revealed that the David Granger-led Administration did not ask for any evidence of proposed projects to be executed on the lands nor did they assess how the usage of the land would impact the economy and benefit the Guyanese people.
“In terms of purchase price, there appears to be no principles governing how much will be paid down and when the balance will be paid. Because you have lands that are valued $600 million, that’s the purchase price – how they arrived at the purchase price remains a mystery – but $500,000 is paid down and possession is given to the purchaser. There are cases where not a single cent is paid down and title is granted to the purchasers. That is the extent of the whim, caprice and I daresay corruption that permeated these transactions,” he informed.

Sub-leased for $100
The State Lands Act of Guyana stipulates that when State lands are leased, the lease must state that the lessee must not part with possession without the consent of the landlord (the State) or shall not assign the interest in the lease without the consent of the landlord. If the lessee acts in contravention of that clause, then the State reserves the right to step in and repossess the lands.
However, in the case of the three agreements at Peters Hall, the PNC Executive, in drafting the lease agreements, changed that to state: “the lessee may assign, sublet, grant any licenses or otherwise part with the possession and/or purpose and/or dispose of the whole or any part of the demised property or any building or other erection at any time standing thereon or any right or privilege in relations thereto conferred by this agreement.”
Nandlall noted that the clause itself acts in contravention of the law.
“That clause in this lease was altered to say that the lessee may divest the land, may part with possession, may assign it to a third-party interest. One lawyer did all or most of the transactions – he drafted the leases for Peters Hall by NICIL. When you look at other NICIL leases, that clause is different, differently worded, its worded in the proper way…it’s supposed to be ‘may not without the permission of the lessor’ and herein lies the conspiracy,” the AG posited.
A total of 30 acres was leased, in 15-acre blocks, to two companies with both companies having identical leases for identical blocks of land at an identical rental fee of US$11,700 per year for an identical 20 years. Ironically, both leases were signed on the same date – May 17, 2018. One of the companies has its address listed at EE Eccles, EBD, while the other is listed as Grove Public Road, EBD.
Nandall also stated that the three companies – Alberttown, Eccles and Grove Public Road – appear to be shell companies since they have no assets nor are there any trace of their operations.
The Attorney General revealed that both companies, by way of Deed of Assignment, sub-leased the land to a Chinese national of Wellington Street, Georgetown, for just $100.
“If this is not wrongdoing then I am not sure…I cannot imagine how a person can pay US$11,000 which by itself is a great undervalue for the land and…does not divest for more but for $100. Obviously, you have money laundering implications, you have fraud,” he said.

SOCU, Police notified
Nandall said that the Police, as well as the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), will have to now step in since it appears that there are elements of money laundering and fraud associated with the transactions.
“Obviously, you have money laundering implications, you have fraud. So, this will be passed to the police and SOCU and we will get the legal advice and the investigation will begin… This (transactions) is organised crime in my view and got elements of money laundering and fraud and corruption,” he posited.
He noted that some persons have already taken steps to relinquish their interests in lands obtained under questionable circumstances and the Government is prepared to work with them to obtain lands using a transparent process. He added that the process is one where the public is involved and the allocations are transparent and at fair prices.
“The companies must show that they would be able to deliver on the projects that they want the lands for. So, they have to have financial backings, they must do a feasibility of the project…so you have to have a project and it has to be properly examined and every person who qualified will get portions of land,” he said.
Just this weekend Guyana Times reported that massive tracts of prime State land which were leased at bargain prices under the former Government will soon be the subject of criminal investigations, as the current Government undertakes a review of several shady land deals in the proximity of the Ogle/Diamond bypass road. The review of the legality of these transactions is being undertaken by the Attorney General Chambers.
The Ogle/Diamond bypass road is a massive project conceived as a way of steering traffic away from central Georgetown and the East Bank thoroughfare and easing the massive traffic jams. It is supposed to see some 26 kilometres of road constructed, linking two of the country’s main thoroughfares.
This new road link will also be connected to key communities in Georgetown and along the East Bank of Demerara. These include Diamond, Mocha and Eccles – all on the East Bank – and Aubrey Barker Road in Georgetown. These connections will prove crucial in diverting traffic.
There have long been reports, however, of a land grab in areas associated with the Indian Export/Import (Exim) Bank-funded project. And with the contract for the road likely to be awarded by this year-end, land associated with the project that was secured since 2015 is likely to have jumped in value.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government has adopted a no-nonsense policy on land that was allocated under the former APNU/AFC Government during the time when they were in caretaker status and not authorised to conduct such large transactions.
As of October 6, 2020, five companies had announced that they surrendered to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), large tracts of land that were given to them under controversial and non-transparent circumstances by the then APNU/AFC caretaker Administration.
The companies that have since reverted lands to the State are Navigant Builders Incorporated – the developers of Windsor Estates; Cardiology Services Incorporated; the Corum Group; American Marine Services Incorporated and Supergraphics Enterprise.
In all of those cases, the firms had expressed a desire to work with the new Administration to get the necessary approvals needed to pursue their respective developmental goals.

https://guyanatimesgy.com/pncr...ands-at-peters-hall/

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Any person stupid enough to pay one million US dollars for 20 acres of land in a racist anti koolie sh-thole failed State, I got a better deal for them. The Brooklyn bridge for one million US dollars.

Prashad
Last edited by Prashad
@lil boy posted:

But Totaram and his friends will say that this is all a lie.

Who gave you permission to speak for me?  Did I say it is a lie?  We haven't heard from James Bond who is the lawyer in question.  There is something called due process lil bai.  If someone is accused of something they have the right to defend themself.  If the facts are as stated in the article then the State should prosecute him.  You just can't convict anyone based on a report in the press or social media. 

T

Amna Ally fingers James Bond as PNCR member who received US$1M payment

Massive land scandal

General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has named party member, James Bond, as the recipient of US$1 million in payments for 20.8 acres of flipped State lands at Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

PNCR General Secretary Amna Ally

Ally made the revelation in response to Guyana Times’ article headlined “PNCR Executive Collects US$1M for flipped lands at Peters Hall” which was published on Tuesday.
“The PNCR wishes to inform the public that Mr James Bond is not an Executive Member of the PNCR. The PNC refers to an article published in the October 27, 2020 edition of the Guyana Times News Papers with the headline ‘PNCR Executive Collects US$1M for flipped lands at Peters Hall’ the ‘PNCR Executive’ use in the headline is erroneous,” Ali said in a written response.
Guyana Times in its report did not name the PNCR member, but Ally in her statement confirmed that it was him, who received the payments.
The revelation about the land scandal was made by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall on Monday in a video statement providing an update on the Government-promised investigation into the land giveaways by the David Granger Administration.
He said that over 50 acres of land were given away, through three different agreements, at Peters Hall by the then Government through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). The PNCR member, now identified as Bond, at the centre of the questionable transactions, was listed as the lawyer on record for the drafting of the three contracts.

PNCR member James Bond

The AG had revealed that in one instance, 20 acres of land was leased for 20 years to a company with its address listed as Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown. The lands referred to as Plots A1, A2, A3, and A4 amounted to 20.8 acres, which were not valuated prior to the signing of the lease on May 9, 2018, for an annual fee of US$16,224.
The land was later sold to a company connected to the oil and gas industry for US$1 million, which did not go to the owner, rather to the attorney on record. The payments were disbursed in two parts at a commercial bank.
Nandlall said that the address for the company is the same address that the PNCR member has listed on his bank account as his place of residence.
He had indicated that as the Government continues with the review of all the land transactions, they are finding that the APNU/AFC flouted all processes used to lease or divest lands owned by the State. He added that there was a public process whereby members of the public would have been invited to either express an interest or put in a bid or make an offer to buy lands.
In instances where the lands were gifted away, the AG revealed that the David Granger-led Administration did not ask for any evidence of proposed projects to be executed on the lands nor did they assess how the usage of the land would impact the economy and benefit the Guyanese people.

The State Lands Act of Guyana stipulates that when State lands are leased, the lease must state that the lessee must not part with possession without the consent of the landlord (the State) or shall not assign the interest in the lease without the consent of the landlord. If the lessee acts in contravention of that clause, then the State reserves the right to step in and repossess the lands.
However, in the case of the three agreements at Peters Hall, the PNCR member, in drafting the lease agreements, changed that to state: “the lessee may assign, sublet, grant any licenses or otherwise part with the possession and/or purpose and/or dispose of the whole or any part of the demised property or any building or other erection at any time standing thereon or any right or privilege in relations thereto conferred by this agreement.”
A total of 30 acres was leased, in 15-acre blocks, to two companies with both companies having identical leases for identical blocks of land at an identical rental fee of US$11,700 per year for an identical 20 years. Ironically, both leases were signed on the same date – May 17, 2018. One of the companies has its address listed as EE Eccles, EBD, while the other is listed as Grove Public Road, EBD.
Nandlall also stated that the three companies – Alberttown, Eccles and Grove Public Road – appear to be shell companies since they have no assets nor are there any trace of their operations.
The Attorney General had revealed that both companies, by way of Deed of Assignment, sub-leased the land to a Chinese national of Wellington Street, Georgetown, for just $100.
The AG had said that the police, as well as the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), will have to now step in since it appears that there are elements of money laundering and fraud associated with the transactions. (G2)

K

PNCR Executive James Bond received US$1M for NICIL-leased lands

– Sale executed five months after land acquisition

Listed as ARKEN Group Inc. Managing Director, Jermaine Richmond

PNCR Executive and Attorney-at-Law, James Bond

Kaieteur News – People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) executive, James Bond collected US$1 million dollars related to the sale of prime state lands leased by the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL) to a company in which Bond appears to be a principal.
Those very lands in question are a small part of ongoing investigations being undertaken by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) into the large scale giveaway of state lands during the previous APNU+AFC regime’s tenure.
GLASS Holdings and Lennox Petroleum
The revelation that Bond benefitted financially from the deal came to the fore after GLASS Holdings Inc., the recipient, attempted to pay lease fees for lands it had acquired on the East Bank of Demerara. Kaieteur News is in receipt of a letter sent to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NICIL, Radha Sharma by the company’s Managing Director, Glenn Low-A-Chee.
In that letter, Low-A-Chee explained that the company was interested in acquiring land – whether through purchase or lease – for the purpose of constructing a warehouse. He explained that the company explored options but later struck up a deal with a company called ARKEN Group Inc. for the purchase of two plots at Plantation Peter’s Hall; Plot ‘A3’ and ‘A4’ under a lease agreement.
“The Lease Agreement and all documents and procedures to effect the transfer of the Leasehold/ Lessee rights from ARKEN to GLASS Holdings were prepared and processed in compliance with the LEASE (number provided) and the general rules governing the lease transfer,” Low-A-Chee stated.
“Pending the completion of the documentation process,” Low-A-Chee wrote, “we had visited NICIL in early March and again in August 2020 in an attempt to pay our lease fees as the new Lessee and we were advised by Mr. Wenston Mingo, Accounts Receivable Clerk in the Accounts Department, NICIL, that there was a pending jurisdictional/restructuring issue between NICIL and Ministry of Business regarding the collection of lease fees, and as such our payment was not accepted/processed. We were advised to follow up at a later date regarding the payments.”
Further on, Low-A-Chee said the company saw a public notice by NICIL informing of a review of leases and sub-leases of the lands at Peter’s Hall and was using the letter to introduce his company as the current Lessee of the plots in question, and requesting a meeting with NICIL officers to “guide us through the current evaluation process.”
In his letter, Low-A-Chee indicated that he attached copies of several documents, listing, inter alia:

“1. Agreement of Sale – ARKEN and GLASS Holdings
2. Lease Agreement between ARKEN and NICIL
3. ARKEN Resolution – Approval of Sale and Appointment of Signatory;
4. ARKEN Resolution – Approval of Payment to James bond
5. ARKEN Company Documents;
6. National ID – (i) Mr. Jermaine Richmond
(ii) Mr. James Bond”

He goes on to list other documents including GLASS Holdings company documents; his passport bio page; GLASS Holdings Approval of Purchase; the Deed of Assignment; Affidavit of Assignor; Affidavit of Assignee; ARKEN Approval of Assignment and Irrevocable Power Of Attorney (POA), GLASS Holdings Approval of Acceptance of Assignment, along with the plans of the two plots provided by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.

Screenshots of the bank statements detailing the transfer transaction to James Bond.

The POA/Deed of Assignment, seen by this paper, and dated November 15, 2019 lists “Plots A3 and A4 being a portion of 5.0 acres and 5.0 acres respectively of land situate at Plantation Peter’s Hall” sold to GLASS Holdings Inc. through a 10 October 2019 sale. While the documents speaks to the decision being via resolution of ARKEN’s Board of Directors, the sale is authorized by only two people, Jermaine Richmond, “Sole Director” and James Anthony Bond, “Attorney-at-Law”.
It is Bond, not Richmond or ARKEN Inc, that is listed as the beneficiary of two direct bank transfers. The first on October 15, comes five days after the date of the Agreement of Sale and was for US $195,000.
The second, on November 21, a week after the POA/Deed of Assignment, was for $757,800. Both statements listed the beneficiary name as James Bond, an account number and an address 34 Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown.
What is notable, however, the wire transfer was not made by GLASS Holdings Inc but by a Trinidad based Consultancy Company called Lennox Petroleum, with payment approved by a Sharlene Guness-Jaghoo and released by a Wayne Persad. Both payments were made from a Wall Street Bank to a local bank account.
Both transfer documents lists in the “Originator to Beneficiary Info” as “PURCHASE OF 10 ACRES OF LEASED LAND IN GUYANA.”
ARKEN Group Inc.
Documents seen by Kaieteur News revealed that approximately 20 acres of land situated at Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara was leased by NICIL to registered company ARKEN Group Inc.
NICIL, per the lease agreement presented ARKEN with four plots – ‘A1’, ‘A2’, ‘A3’ and ‘A4’ being a portion of 5.8 acres, along with three 5.0 acres plots of land at Plantation Peter’s Hall.
The company list Jermaine Richmond as the principal and Managing Director with the address listed as 34 Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown. Kaieteur News understands that Richmond is or was at some point employed by James Bond.
The 20-year lease agreement signed on May 9, 2019 – less than six months before part of the land, A3 and A4 was sold to GLASS – stipulated that ARKEN pay a lease fee of US$16,224 plus annually with no restrictions given – which meant that the company could sell or rent the lands to third parties as it pleased.
Kaieteur News has seen the agreement of sale between ARKEN and GLASS which lists the purchase price of the land at GYD$200,000 million. As per the agreement of sale between ARKEN and GLASS, the sum of $40 million, equivalent to the US $195,000 paid by Lennox Petroleum to Bond, would be paid to the Vendor upon signing the agreement while the balance of $160 million, equivalent to the second payment, would be paid six weeks after. It should be noted that the Vendor is listed as Jermaine Richmond and not James Bond. Kaieteur News attempted to make contact with James Bond but efforts proved futile.

The letter from GLASS Holdings Managing Director Glenn Low-A-Chee to NICIL’s R.K. Sharma.

Django

A bribe is a bribe anywhere in the world. Amma Ally fingered Bond as the culprit who accepted US$1 million in exchange for state lands.  These are the people who accused the PPP of corruption and rigging when in fact they are the ones who are doing it. Where are the anti-PPP nay-sayers now?

R
@cain posted:

If found guilty the guilty party must pay consequences..this goes for all parties.

The Police are investigating Lowenfield, Mingo, Myers, Chris, and others who tried to rig the 2020 Election.

R
Last edited by Ramakant-P
@Ramakant-P posted:

Watch out they don't start cussing you. That's their MO's.

Rama, the TMT cabal will soon attack you, look and see they already started.

I must admit, you have the patience to tolerate their ignorance. Take a break, you will be the BETTER man.

K
@kp posted:

Rama, the TMT cabal will soon attack you, look and see they already started.

I must admit, you have the patience to tolerate their ignorance. Take a break, you will be the BETTER man.

You lack credibility.

Mitwah

The PNC flipping and fingering and now you seeing their true colors. This explains why they didn't want to give up power. Since Amna did the fingering, it means that the higher-ups knew about this but they stayed quiet. More corruption will be exposed and come to light.  

LB
@lil boy posted:

The PNC flipping and fingering and now you seeing their true colors. This explains why they didn't want to give up power. Since Amna did the fingering, it means that the higher-ups knew about this but they stayed quiet. More corruption will be exposed and come to light.  

Lock them up,lilboy.

R

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