THE attorney for former accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Peter Ramcharran, on Monday, September 23, 2019, made a no-case submission in favor of his client, stating that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor failed to prove its $414M fraud case.

Ramcharran, 39, of Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, is currently before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
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.

On Monday, attorney-at-law Sase Gunraj made a no-case submission claiming that SOCU prosecutor, Patrice Henry, failed to prove his case in the matter.
The matter is adjourned until September, 30, 2019 for the prosecutor to hand over his written submission in the matter.

Ramcharran, is currently out on $390,000 bail from the High Court. He currently has other matters before the court relating to fraud committed on GRDB.

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.

In May 2017, six former members of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) were charged with five counts 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.