COME July 11, defence attorney for former Permanent Secretary of The Ministry of the Presidency, Omar Shariff, and his reputed wife, Savatri Hardio, will give his submission to the court for his client who is on trial for failing to comply with a production order, contrary to Section 26 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The submission will be made by attorney-at-law Sanjeev Datadin before City Magistrate Fabayo Azore. At the last hearing, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor Patrice Henry had closed his case.

The couple was charged on January 23, 2017 after they failed to comply with the production order issued by then Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, after a summons was served by the High Court to produce certain named documents to Assistant Police Commissioner Sydney James within seven days. They pleaded not guilty.
The duo was ordered to report every other Monday to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). Omar Shariff was fired from the post of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency. The ministry said his services had been terminated with effect December 31, 2016.

Shariff, the subject of a probe into alleged financial crimes by SOCU, has denied such allegations but conceded that he has unsettled tax matters with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in relation to the sale of phone credit.