THE magisterial hearing in the matter against former Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali, has been adjourned until April 29, 2019, pending the hearing of a motion in the High Court to stop the matter from proceeding further. Ali is accused of defrauding the State of some $174M.
Ali, 38, of Sea-spray, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, who is also the People’s Progressive Party-Civic (PPP/C) presidential candidate, was, in November 2018, ‘slapped’ with 19 counts of fraud.

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 the necessary valuation .

When the matter was called on Wednesday, February 06, 2019, Ali’s attorney Devindra Kissoon, requested that the matter be adjourned, pending the outcome of the hearing at the High Court.
The Chief Magistrate, with no objection raised by Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor, Patrice Henry, adjourned the matter until April 29, 2019.

The application was filed on January 2, 2019, by Senior Counsel Neil Boston, Anil Nandlall and Devindra Kissoon at the High Court, where the matter was being heard by Justice Franklin Holder. The matter was adjourned until March 19, 2019.

Ali, in his application, contended that the charges were vague and constituted an abuse of process and, as such, he was seeking, from the High Court, several orders.

An order of Certiorari quashing the decision of the DPP to charge him with the offence of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to common law, on the basis that it was irrational, biased, and influenced by improper considerations and motives; an order of Certiorari quashing the information on oath of Munilall Persaud, Corporal of Police of the SOCU, on the 19 charges.

Ali is also asking for an order of prohibition restraining the chief magistrate, Ann McLennan, or any other magistrate from hearing or attempting to hear the charges as filed by the corporal; and a declaration that the particulars of the charges do not constitute an offence known to law and one that there is no statutory or common-law duty to obtain a valuation prior to the sale of property.

The former Minister of Housing was accused of defrauding the state of over $174M after selling the land at an allegedly undervalued price. The former Minister of Housing was accused of selling the lands to former President Bharrat Jagdeo; former Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon; and former ministers Priya Manickchand, Dr. Jennifer Westford, Robert Persaud and Clement Rohee; Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, and former army head Gary Best and Fortune Developers Inc., Guyana.

He also sold lands at the location to former General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former President Donald Ramotar– Lisa Ramotar; former President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo; the son of former Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul– Dr Ghansham Singh; former Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Chief Executive Office, Rajendra Singh; former president of the Caribbean Development Bank, Compton Bourne; Andrew Bishop, former Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission; former Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) Shaik Baksh; Safraaz Khan and George Hallaq.

The controversial Pradoville 2 issue came to the fore when the coalition government commenced several investigations into suspicious financial transactions of state officials that bordered, or amounted to, corrupt practices and/or abuse of office. It was found that several persons close to the last government had received prime seafront lands belonging to the state at extraordinarily low cost.

It was reported that the “Pradoville” recipients, the majority of whom held very high positions within private or state organisations, received land and later built posh or luxury homes on the properties after paying as little as $114 per square foot; citizens, on the other hand, were being made to pay as much as $500 a square foot for ordinary land.
The “Pradoville” arrangement was made during the PPP’s term of office, 2010-2015.

Jagdeo’s property is easily the largest plot of land with the biggest mansion, equipped with a pool and other amenities. The Pradoville 2 matter became even more controversial when it was related that taxpayers’ money was used to develop the land and remove a transmitter belonging to the National Communications Network , which cost around $100M, in order to develop the scheme for the prominent persons going to live there.

There was even more controversy surrounding the seafront properties, since there was no advertising of the state lands and it appeared that all the recipients who got the land were handpicked by the then government.