ADVICE is being sought from Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy about instituting fraud charges against Rumzeight Rice Processors Inc’s Turhane Doerga. Doerga, a vocal critic of the current Administration’s support of the rice industry, is wanted by the police in Florida, United States of America, where an arrest warrant has been issued for him.

The arrest warrant, issued in March 2013, follows a 2006 court case where he was ordered by the courts to pay millions in damages to his former investment partner, Every Lowuman.
Louwman subsequently engaged attorneys in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago to enforce the arrest warrant order, in an effort to ensure that Doerga does not escape justice.
When asked, Dr Ramsammy disclosed that the Trinidadian legal team contacted him with queries about Doerga, but added that he is yet to respond.
“I have requested advice from the Attorney-General,” he said.

BREACH OF AGREEMENT
Doerga and Louwman had entered into an agreement in 1994 for the processing and trading of rice, according to court documents seen by the Guyana Chronicle.
The final summary judgment in the matter stated that Doerga managed the day-to-day business, while Louwman initially contributed some US$9.7M to the venture, and over six years contributed another US$20.5M – US$8M of which was entrusted directly to Doerga.
According to the document, Doerga operated the Partnership from 1994 until mid-2000 without repaying any of Louwman’s investment.
Fraudulent utilisation of Louwman’s investment that involved a new company, Trinidad Commodities Limited, led to legal action being taken, where Louwman sought dissolution of the partnership, liquidation of its assets and distribution of the proceeds.
Courts in the USA, in 2006, ruled in Louwman’s favour and ordered that Doerga: “(a) must surrender to the court all shares of stock or other indicia of ownership in the Partnership companies; (b) is enjoined from using Partnership assets, including the Partnership companies; and (c) must file with the court an accounting of all assets of the Partnership, including the funds advanced by Louwman for the benefit of the Partnership, the location of all real and personal property belonging to the Partnership and its companies, the liabilities of the Partnership, and the profits and losses of the partnership from its formation through its dissolution.”
The court order was ignored by Doerga and subsequent representation to the court by Louwman, found Doerga in contempt of court and an arrest warrant was issued for him.
According to the document, Doerga, once arrested, shall be immediately taken into custody by the Sheriff and shall be confined in the county jail for an indefinite period unless he purges himself of contempt by acceding to the stipulations detailed in the court’s judgments.
Additionally, given the extended effort to enforce the arrest warrant order, outside of the USA, observers have noted that there are agreements between the North American country and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that could facilitate this.