THE final witness in the trial of eight directors of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), accused of failing to comply with a production order issued by acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, is expected to take the stand on February 21.
Those on trial are: GBTI directors Edward A Beharry, Suresh Beharry, Kathryn Eytle-McLean, Richard Isava, Carlton James and Basil Mahadeo; its chairman Robin Stoby and acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaleeza Shaw.

The accused being placed before the courts is a result of an ongoing Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) investigation into the US$500M fraud at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).

The trial is being presided over by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, with evidence being led by Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), prosecutor, Patrice Henry.
In a previous hearing, Court Marshal Nelisha Peterkin, Superintendent of Police, Robert Tyndall and Sydney James, Head of SOCU and Superintendent Brian Vieira testified.
The eight directors are jointly charged with failing to comply with a production order issued by the acting chief justice and served by a marshal of the High Court to produce certain named documents, within seven days, to SOCU head, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sydney James.

It is alleged that they contravened the order without reasonable cause.
SOCU, as part of its probe into the US$500M GRDB fraud case, had moved to the court to obtain an order instructing GBTI to produce all the required documents to aid in the investigation.

Under tough anti-money laundering laws, once court orders are granted, financial institutions are reportedly bound to provide information. In this case, the monies are not from private accounts, but rather from the U.S. dollar and other accounts of GRDB, a state entity.