ON Monday, Justice Franklin Holder will decide whether an interim stay of proceedings will be granted in the case brought against former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Winston Brassington for alleged misconduct in public office.

A team of lawyers, led by former Attorney General Mohabir Anil Nandlall, had filed a ‘Fixed Date Application’ for an Order or Writ of Certiorari to be issued, quashing the case brought against Dr. Singh and Brassington in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court by Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

In that “Fixed Date Application,” which is the substantive application, the legal team, among other things, applied for an “interim order restraining the learned Chief Magistrate or any magistrate within the Georgetown Magisterial District from hearing or attempting to hear or determine or taking any further steps in respect of the Information Upon Oath of Munilall Persaud, Corporal of Police of the Special Organized Crime Unit…”

In the High Court on Wednesday, Nandlall and team put forward their arguments in favour of the application while Solicitor General Kim Kyte-Thomas argued against it. Their arguments were made before Justice Holder in Court 11.

After hearing the arguments for more than three hours in the high court, Justice Holder announced that he will make his decision on the stay application on Monday May 21, 2018 at 11:30hrs.

On May 8, 2018, Dr. Singh and Brassington were charged with three counts of misconduct in public office, contrary to the public law when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The first charge alleged that on Monday, December 28, 2009 by way of an agreement of sale and purchase, they “acted recklessly” when they sold to National Hardware Guyana Limited, lands amounting to 103.88 acres, property of the State for the sum of $598, 659, 398 (Vat exclusive) without first having procured a valuation of the said property from a competent valuation officer.

The second charge alleges that the duo on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 by way of agreement of sale and purchase “without due diligence” sold to Scady Business Corporation, land located at Liliendaal, ECD, amounting to 4,700 acres, also the property of the State for the sum of $150,000,000 knowing that the said property was valued at $340,000,000 by Rodrigues Architects Associate.

The final charge alleges that the former finance minister and the former NICIL CEO on Saturday, May 14, 2011, by way of agreement of sale and purchase “acted recklessly” when they sold to Multi-Cinemas Guyana Inc. 10, 002 acres of land located at Turkeyen, ECD, property of the State for the sum of $185, 037,000 without first having procured a valuation of the said property from a competent valuation officer.

The men were not required to plead to the charge as Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Special Prosecutor, Trenton Lake, explained to the court that additional investigations into the matter are ongoing.

The two defendants were placed on $6M bail each. The matter was adjourned until June 5, 2018.