MINISTER within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma has expressed his disappointment in the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)’s inability to make any prosecutions despite the findings of the forensic audits.

Forensic audits were conducted on several Government agencies and entities including the National Communications Network, One Laptop Per Family Project, Guyana Office for Investment, Environmental Protection Agency, E-Governance Unit, Scrap Metal Unit, New Guyana Marketing Corporation, National Insurance Scheme, Passport Office, Guyana Gold Board, Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and Guyana Oil Company among others.
“I am annoyed that there is no prosecution; I did the audit so I know what it contains,” said Sharma during his debate on the National Payments System in the National Assembly on Thursday.

The minister even went on to question whether or not the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is doing its job because there are a lot of issues before the court.

He said: “I don’t know what it is, is it that SOCU ain’t doing their work or is the legislation too weak?”

While the auditors who conducted the audit did not have the authority to go into any account or make arrests, Sharma believes that the information they gathered was sufficient and persons should have been prosecuted.
It was reported that at least two joint charges have been filed against several former managers and former directors of the Guyana Rice Development Board for failing to enter information in a ledger.

Also, months after SOCU had completed its ‘Pradoville 2’ investigation the unit was able to institute charges against former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh; and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington.
The two were jointly slapped with three charges of misconduct in public office as these relate to three plots of state land.

As it is now, SOCU provides reinforcement to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, in that it aids efforts to ensure that money acquired through illicit activities is not being placed in officialdom.