PETER Ramcharran, former accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), was on Wednesday, March 06, 2019, remanded to prison for embezzling over $400M from the agricultural entity.

Ramcharran, 39, of Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, was deported back to Guyana early Wednesday morning after authorities in Guyana had applied for him to be extradited from Canada.

Ramcharran appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to face the 39 fraud-related charges for which an arrest warrant for issued of him in 2017.

Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor, Patrice Henry, made an application for the arrest warrant to be withdrawn and the charge to be read to Ramcharran. Henry also told the court that the charges will be laid indictably at this time.

The former accountant was slapped with five charges of falsification of accounts, which read that between 2015-2011, at Lot 16-17 Cowan Street, Kingston, at the GRDB head office, while being a clerk or servant, he omitted to enter some $414 million in the GRDB ledger.

Ramcharran, along with GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh and Singh’s deputy Madanlall Ramraj, was slapped with 17charges for falsifying documents.
The charges alleged that Ramcharran, between 2011 and 2012 omitted to enter true entries of over $4.2 M into the company’s ledger, knowing that it was contrary to standard operating procedures.

Ramcharran, as well as Singh and Ramraj, was also slapped with 17 charges pertaining to the theft of over $5M from the GRDB accounts.

The charges alleged that Ramcharran fraudulently took $5.1M or converted the money to his own use and benefit, or any use and purpose, other than that of the GRDB.

Ramcharran’s attorney, Sase Gunraj, during an application for bail told the court that his client resigned from the GRDB in 2016 and left to further his studies in accountancy at the Humber Collage, Canada.

Gunraj started that during that time his client was made aware of the charges via the media online.

“My client was never contacted by SOCU about the charges,” the attorney said, as he explained that Ramcharran read about the arrest warrant being issued for him from an online news agency.

However, Ramcharran, while in Canada, had utilised legal options available to him since extradition proceedings were initiated against him in in 2017.
The chief magistrate told the attorney that his client had ample time to come back to Guyana and face the charges; however, Ramcharran had to be extradited two years later after losing legal battles in Canada.

Additionally, the chief magistrate explained that before the arrest warrant was granted on June 5, 2017, SOCU head, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sydney James, had given sworn evidence that he contacted Ramcharran via Facebook and WhatsApp. However,

James said that Ramcharran told him that he feared his life would be in danger should he return to Guyana. Furthermore, the SOSU prosecutor explained that Ramcharran was aware of the charges, since he was contacted by the head of SOCU.

Henry opposed the granting of bail to Ramcharran on the grounds that he poses a flight risk and that investigations into offences of similar nature are pending against the accused. The chief magistrate therefore remanded Ramcharran until March 25, 2019.

After court, defence attorney Gunraj told reporters that his client was not contacted by the SOCU head, who lied to the chief magistrate to secure an arrest warrant. The attorney explained that his client is being penalised for time taken up while fighting the extradition.

In May 2017, six former members of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) were charged with five charges of falsification of accounts and are currently on trial before a city Magistrate.

Those on trial are General-Secretary of the Rice Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj; former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Nigel Dharamlall; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), Badrie Persaud; and Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine.

They were released on $500,000 bail each, with reporting conditions. The accused all pleaded not guilty to this charge as well.