The Guyana Police Force has refuted an article in today’s edition of the Kaieteur News under the headline, “Acting Top Cop halts gold dealer’s arrest”, noting that Saddiqi Rasul is still “fully and properly licensed” to carry firearms.

The Kaieteur News had reported that the embattled gold dealer was arrested for the possession of a rifle and a handgun but was ordered to be released on the instructions of acting Police Commissioner, David Ramnarine.

However, the Police Force in a statement Friday clarified that two firearms which Rasul and his Security were found in possession of, are licensed and in fact Mr. Rasul is still in possession of several firearms which he is fully and properly licensed to carry, despite the recent revocation of several licenses.

“It would have been a grave injustice to allow colleague members of the Force to take a course of action on the night in question which may have resulted in Mr. Rasul and his Security being kept in custody when in fact it was not necessary and would have thrown the Guyana Police Force into disrepute, for highly unprofessional action,” the police statement noted.

“There are persons who unfortunately are erroneously informed and mistakenly believe that all the licenses were revoked,” the statement concluded.

Rasul, the owner of SSS Minerals Trading Enterprise, was charged in April with six counts of obtaining money by false pretense and released on $3M bail. It is alleged that the gold dealer was involved in a $956M fraud at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industries (GBTI).

The charges alleged that between March 21 and 22, 2017 at Bartica, with intent to defraud, he obtained the sum of $290M, $298M, $138M, $45M, $89M and $96M from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) by falsely pretending he had cash in his account at Citizens Bank to honour the cheques he en-cashed.