-released on $500,000 bail

After fleeing the jurisdiction for almost two years, the project engineer behind the low-graded rehabilitation works done on the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), building at Robb Street, Georgetown was on Wednesday arrested and charged.

Hanniel Madramootoo, 35 of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) along with his brother Phillip Madramootoo and his friend Nizam Ramkissoon, Directors of Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Limited, Trinidad and Tobago had fled the country in 2016 following an investigation into works done on the GMC building.

However, early Wednesday morning Hanniel Madramootoo was arrested at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)  upon his arrival to Guyana. He was blacklisted in Guyana after a warrant was issued for his arrest along with his other two co-accused.

Hours after his arrest , Madramootoo was placed before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrate Court and was not required to answer to the joint charge while arrest warrants were issued for the two other accused.

The charge read that  between October 28, 2010 and April 25, 2012, Madramootoo conspired with  Phillip Madramootoo and  Ramkissoon to continuously approve payments which were made to the contractor of the engineering firm for works that were incompetently and incorrectly done with inferior materials to rehabilitate the GMC building at Robb and Alexander Streets, Bourda, Georgetown while knowing that such works should not have been approved.

Police Prosecutor Richard Harris told the court that GMC Manager Nizam Hassan, and Felecia De Souza-Madramootoo were earlier charged with the same offence. However the case was dismissed due prosecution failure to prove its case.

Harris noted that efforts were made by the Government of Guyana who contacted that Trinidad and Tobago Government for the trio to be to be arrested and deported back to Guyana to face the charges.

The efforts proved futile since the men were reportedly hiding out in Trinidad.

The prosecutor objected to Madramootoo being released on bail on the grounds that he poses a flight risk since he already fled the jurisdiction before.

Madramootoo’s attorney, Glen Hanoman  told the court that his client was never hiding in Trinidad but was studying engineering and came back to Guyana after completing his studies.

Hanoman explained that the charges are of a civil nature and begged the court for his client to be released on self-bail.

Magistrate Daly initially granted Madramootoo $1M bail but later reduced it to $500,000  after the attorney pleaded with the court. He was also ordered to hand over all his travel documents to the court and ordered to report to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) headquarters weekly.

The matter has been transferred to Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for June 29.

In October 2016, SOCU completed its report into the investigations on the construction of the building, which had been contracted out in 2011.

A forensic audit report submitted by auditor Saykar Boodhoo back in April 2016 had flagged the faulty work on the building.