Months after eight officials of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) were charged for failing to comply with a production order, the charge against them were moments ago dismissed after the magistrate upheld a no-case submission made by the defendants’ lawyers.
The eight persons charged for the offence are Chairman Robin Stoby SC, John Tracey, Edward Beharry, Suresh Beharry, Kathryn Eytle- McLean, Basil Mahadeo, Carlton James and Richard Isava. They appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and were represented by a battery of top lawyers including Nigel Hughes.
The charge against the eight defendants had alleged that on September 7, 2017 at Georgetown, they failed to comply with a production order granted by Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George Wiltshire, for them to produce certain documents to the head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Sydney James. The order was made on August 29, 2017.
They all denied the charge on their first court appearance and were released on their own recognizance (self bail).
This morning when the matter was called, the Chief Magistrate before ruling highlighted the discrepancies between the witnesses and the credibility of their evidence.
She said after considering the evidence by the prosecution’s witnesses, she was satisfied that there was indeed a production order dated August 29, 2017, which was made by the Chief Justice.
The Magistrate added that the court is also satisfied that the time for the production order was seven days after service on the defendants, hence she added that the date was subsequently extended.
She went on to tell the court that after examining the evidence it suggested that at the time when the defendants were charged, the defendants had already been granted an extension.
The Magistrate further went on to tell the court that the date of the production order was not yet expired and the court is of the opinion that the defendants did not breach the production order, since the date of the compliance was not yet met.
In those circumstances the Magistrate upheld the no-case submission, dismissing the charge.
According to information, SOCU began tracking down US$500M that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) handled as far back as 2010. SOCU is contending that the bank failed or stalled and gave all kinds of excuses, and even destroyed pertinent records relating to GRDB. SOCU reportedly argued that other banks complied, but it was finding it hard going with GBTI.
In August, 2017, the acting Chief Justice granted production orders to SOCU, giving the bank a week to hand over certain information.
Under tough anti-money laundering laws, once court orders are granted, financial institutions are reportedly bound to provide information.
