— contends workload of the investigating body very heavy

THE Special Organised Crime Unity (SOCU) is overburdened and is being unfairly targeted, said Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

In responding to questions on the recent dismissal of cases against former Guyana Rice Development Board (GRBD) General Manager, Jagnarine Singh and his deputy, Madanlall Ramraj by Magistrate Judy Latchman, Minister Harmon said that SOCU is doing a “fair job” at investigating but is burdened with conducting both investigation and prosecution.
“I think that they are doing a fair job at investigating but it is what you do with that information when you investigate and how you get it over into the courts,” the state minister told reporters at Ministry of the Presidency on Friday.

In making his point, Minister Harmon pointed out that SOCU, an arm of the Guyana Police Force, was established just before the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government took office in 2015 in response to Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements outlined by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

However the unit, he said, lacked capacity at the time. “The entity was set up but without the necessary capacity to be able to do the work for which it was set up,” he posited, noting that over the last two years, the government has been building the capacity of SOCU with assistance from the United Kingdom (UK).
SOCU has specialised functions, however, despite its size and years of existence, it has been investigating and prosecuting.

“I believe that it is putting a lot of pressure on that entity when you see the number of cases they have to investigate and then take people to court,” Minister Harmon told reporters.

With strong support from Irish Financial Investigations adviser, Dr. Sam Sittlington, Minister Harmon said government has been increasing the capacity of SOCU to investigate and prosecute.

“I believe this is where the entity is being unfairly targeted because for a small body like that only recently established, investigating matters and then having to take these matters to court, they are two separate issues here where this is a concern,” he said.
The minister of state said too, that government has challenges with the quality of some judgments and as such, is prepared to test those decisions at higher courts. The dismissed GRDB cases are being appealed.

Last August, SOCU also received high praises from British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, who had said the unit was doing an extraordinary job amid concerns of SOCU’s perceived inability to make any prosecutions despite the findings of the forensic audits.

CRITICISM
Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, while debating the National Payments System in the National Assembly earlier this year, had questioned the existence of SOCU when it was not fulfilling its mandate.

High Commissioner Quinn, however, had made it clear that SOCU is not a prosecutorial unit but rather an investigative arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

It was noted that once investigations are completed, the reports are handed over to the relevant authorities such as the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
“It is not for SOCU to decide when a prosecution should go forward,” the British high commissioner said. He said that in keeping with UK standards, SOCU, under the guidance of Dr. Sittlington, has conducted a range of investigations.

But while both the high commissioner and minister of state sang praises for SOCU, Dr. Sittlington underscored the importance for SOCU and other investigating authorities to do better.

“We see a lot of cases getting to court and failing in court. We see failings within the files that go to the DPP. We don’t want files to come back to us for amendments or corrections, we want one file going one time to the DPP or the police legal adviser and that file being referred for charges,” he said.

At the time, he was addressing prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and investigators from the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) during a recent training in State Assets Recovery and Anti-money Laundering at the Police Officer’s Training Academy. The course was facilitated by SARA and focuses on evidence gathering, successful prosecutions and the confiscation of assets and cash from criminal elements.