Probe into money laundering accusations by SARU…No evidence of wrongdoing by Republic Bank — says Central Bank Governor

By Kiana Wilburg
Central Bank has come out in defence of Republic Bank (Guyana Limited) which is currently under investigation

Central Bank Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga

by the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU). The probe is based on documents which seem to implicate Republic Bank in a money laundering activity.
Yesterday, Kaieteur News headlined a story ‘SARU probes local bank accused of money laundering.’
The Bank of Guyana, in a statement to the media yesterday, made it clear that one of its functions is to supervise and regulate financial institutions in Guyana.
The Central Bank said that it is against this supervisory and regulatory background that it has chosen to respond to the newspaper publication.
The Bank admitted that it had received a letter of complaint and request for prosecution of the financial institution.
It revealed that it had conducted an examination of the relevant records of the financial institution, Republic Bank. Based on the documents and records examined by the Bank of Guyana, it said that no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Republic Bank (Guyana Limited) was found.
It said that the examination revealed that the financial institution had taken steps to ensure compliance with the relevant Prudential Supervision Guidelines issued by the Bank of Guyana under the Financial Institutions Act No 1 of 1995.
However, when approached to investigate and prosecute Republic Bank on July 25, 2014, Dr Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Central bank wrote by way of letter dated September 23, 2014, “We wish to advise that since this matter is engaging the attention of the Court, the Bank of Guyana will be guided by the Court’s decision.”

SARU Head,
Dr. Clive Thomas

In that letter, the Central Bank Governor did not inform the complainant that an examination would be carried out. In its press release, yesterday, it did not say when it carried out such an examination and whether the complainant was subsequently informed about this.
Kaieteur News understands that the complainant was never aware of this development. The Central Bank said that in light of the recent article, which has the potential to destabilize the financial sector, the Bank of Guyana has found it necessary to issue such a statement for the guidance of all parties.
Kaieteur News understands that documents reaching SARU show that a huge deposit of $82,068,617 was effected to the bank account of a sitting Government Minister on June 16, 2011. It is being alleged that the transaction was done without the knowledge of the account holder, who was the complainant.
Documents show that the complainant inquired about this strange development in 2011, but was told by one of the Bank managers that the deposit was an “internal transaction that went through” and that he “should not have been told about it.”
On June 20, 2014 the Bank’s external auditor was written to by the account holder, informing him that he was in possession of information that $82,068,617 was deposited by someone else into his account.
The Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga was on four occasions written to about the case. A request was also made to Dr. Ganga for the said bank to be prosecuted under Section 60 of the Financial Institutions Act, but to no avail.
Asked to comment on the matter, SARU Head, Dr. Clive Thomas had said that indeed the matter has engaged the attention of his department and it is “worrying.” He preferred not to divulge a detailed opinion on the matter, especially at the preliminary stage of the investigation.
The matter is expected to be brought to the attention of certain international bodies which have recently partnered with SARU in the fight against corruption in Guyana.

No mention is made of the alleged investigation of the Finance Institution by Central Bank to the complainant.

With assistance being rendered by the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK), Dr. Thomas insists that justice regarding money laundering in Guyana will be served.
He said that he is also appalled at “how deep money laundering connections ran under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).”
Dr. Thomas had said that the UK and the USA have pledged their support to ensure that the fight against corruption under the Granger-led administration goes beyond mere talk.
Thomas noted that both the US and the UK have told him on various occasions that they are indeed concerned about the level of corruption in Guyana hence “their readiness to assist wherever and whenever they can.”
Dr. Thomas said, “There are intense investigations going on right now and believe me, we here at SARU intend to see that justice is served. I wish to repeat President David Granger’s statement that those who did the crime will definitely do the time. We are building some irrefutable cases.
“We have some evidence on certain officials within the PPP who have been involved in serious money laundering activities and these will be revealed in due time. We are receiving the help of the USA and the UK on these matters and their support to us has been tremendously helpful.
“They see the importance of Guyana having an anti-corruption unit and they are also working along with us to provide legal support as well. They are worried about the level of corruption that has occurred over the years. Both countries have presented us with damning evidence that showed that the resources of this country were leaving left, right and centre under the PPP…”