CRIMINAL case against former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali, who is accused of defrauding the State of some $174M for his role in the notorious Pradoville land-sale scandal, has been put on hold pending the outcome of a fixed date application filed at the High Court.

Ali had filed an application to stop the proceeding of the criminal matter, which is currently being heard by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, and Justice Franklin Holder granted the stay of proceedings on Thursday afternoon.

The ex-minister has been slapped with 19 counts of fraud last November and the charges were laid indictable. The charges read that between 2010 and 2015, Ali conspired with persons unknown to defraud the Government of Guyana when he acted recklessly in presenting the value of 19 plots of state land situated at Plantation Sparendaam and Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, and sold the said lands at a grossly undervalued price without first obtaining a valuation to determine their true value.

It was reported that the “Pradoville” recipients, the majority of whom held very high positions within private or state organisations, received and later built posh or luxury homes on the properties after paying as little as $114 per square foot.

Justice Holder found that with respect to these particulars of the offence, there are reasonable issues to be tried, and that is the issue of whether valuations have to be obtained before the purchase of land.

Speaking with the lawyers after they exited the Chambers of Justice Holder, attorney Leslyn Noble, who is the representative for the first named respondent, Munilall Persaud, said that she would have submitted that the charges are known to law since they were saved under section three of the criminal law offences act.

She submitted that Ali’s application is an abuse of process, and it is premature as the application in itself has no merit.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of Ali, attorney Anil Nandlall said that selling a property without valuation in Guyana has never been a criminal offence. In fact, he stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack has sworn an affidavit to say that she did not offer advice on the charges. This, he said, will be put in as evidence in their case since their main contention is that the charges aren’t lawful.

Nandlall said that the fixed date application that was filed, challenges the legality of the criminal charges being faced by Ali. The matter was adjourned to the 5th of February, where the arguments will be presented and court will determine whether or not the charges are lawful.