PPP lawmaker, former GRDB official freed of fraud charges

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Former Member

Posted by: Denis Chabrol in Business, Courts, Crime, News, PoliticsAugust 30, 20193 Comments

PPP parliamentarian, Nigel Dharamlall.

Three of seven former officials of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Ministry of Agriculture were Friday freed of fraud charges totalling GYD$362 million, and already defence lawyers are asking the Magistrates’ court to dismiss similar charges against the four others.

Freed are former GRDB Director, Nigel Dharamlall, then Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine and former General Manager, Jagnarine Singh.

Dharamlall is a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and PPP parliamentarian.

City Magistrate Leron Daly said the prosecution did not make out a case against the defendants and further that the directors were never responsible for including anything in the general ledger. She also noted that the prosecution did not take the general ledger to the court.

Defence Lawyer, Sase Gunraj has since asked the magistrate to dismiss similar charges against the defendants for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. “We are expecting the prosecutor to withdraw them,” he said.

Former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board, Jagnarine Singh.

Gunraj and Attorney-at-Law, Glenn Hanoman are representing the accused who are on GYD$500,000 bail for the charges that had stemmed from a forensic audit that had been conducted at that semi-autonomous state agency.

Others accused of the offences are President of the Guyana Rice Producers Association and PPP parliamentarian, Dharamkumar Seeraj; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company, Badrie Persaud and PPP Organiser, Dhanlall Dhanraj.

Details of the charges are that between January 1 and December 31, 2012 with intent to defraud the men omitted or concurred to be omitted GYD$77.3 million from the general ledger of the GRDB’s Republic Bank account for Agriculture Life Skills programme. They allegedly committed similar offences January 1 and December 31, 2013, amounting to GYD$9.7 million; between January 1 and December 31, 2014 for GYD$130 million from the said account and GYD$145 million from the same Republic Bank account.

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Former Member

Hope much money did this incompetent government must have paid their lawyers.

Their was also millions that was paid to auditors.

This hapless Government is yet to convict one person from PPP government.

8/31/194:46 PM

Former Member

Dave posted:
Hope much money did this incompetent government must have paid their lawyers.
Their was also millions that was paid to auditors.
This hapless Government is yet to convict one person from PPP government.

The PNC led coalition has made zero positive impact on the lives of the people of Guyana. They gave themselves huge pay increases at the expense of everyone else and sat on their lazy asses for four straight years. Their haplessness is only bested by their wickedness.

8/31/199:52 PM

Former Member

All along, they were only vindictively targeting members of the PPP as proven from every case so far.

8/31/199:53 PM

cainTired old hippie

ksazma posted:
All along, they were only vindictively targeting members of the PPP as proven from every case so far.

You saying everyone of the defendants were in the PPP?

8/31/1910:12 PM

NehruBig Mouth Member

DUMB ASSES wasting Taxpayers money. There is not a more incompetent, dumb and stupid Govt on this planet!!!

9/2/1911:50 AM

Former Member

cain posted:
ksazma posted:
All along, they were only vindictively targeting members of the PPP as proven from every case so far.
You saying everyone of the defendants were in the PPP?

Nah bai. I am saying that every PPP member who were charged by this wicked PNC led Coalition had those charges dismissed once the case was addressed in court. Anyone can accuse anyone of anything but evidence is necessary to corroborate those accusations. As Ramjattan admitted, while they have been accusing Charrandas of one thing or the other, they have no proof to cause the Canadians to extradite him back to Guyana. I would wager that in the end, even Ali with all his fake certificates will see the court throw out all 19 of those frivolous charges.