– as investigations into Ponzi Scheme continue

FIFTEEN persons who have collectively invested in excess of $13M so far in Accelerated Capital Incorporated (AIC) have come forward to make reports to the police against the company, even as the police have confirmed that they will be seeking an extension to keep the company’s operators Yuri Garcia Dominguez and his wife Ateeka Ishmael in custody.

The pair was arrested last Thursday evening, and is being investigated for “financial crimes”, for running what is suspected to have been a “Ponzi Scheme” since October 2019. With the 72 hours having expired on Sunday, the police will need an extension to keep the pair in custody.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed on Sunday that the pair will remain in custody, and that the investors continue to make reports.
“To date, 15 persons; and those individuals in total would have been defrauded of in excess of $13 million,” Blanum said when asked about the latest development with the matter. As to the whereabouts of the couple, he said: “They are in police custody; when we charge them we will make it public.”
The pair is said to have defrauded as many as 17,000 Guyanese of approximately US$20 million during the period AIC has been in operation here, according to a report submitted by Attorney-General Anil Nandalall, who has been pushing for it and its principals to be investigated.
Last Saturday Nandlall announced that the government is working to ensure the thousands of Guyanese who invested in the Ponzi scheme operating on the East Coast Demerara are reimbursed the monies they have invested.
“Our main priority is to ensure that if this scheme is unlawful, and from all indications it is unlawful, then our main priority is to ensure that the persons who have put money into this scheme are reimbursed… we also have to build a database of persons who have invested and the amount they invested so that they can be reimbursed if possible,” the attorney-general assured during a virtual press briefing on Saturday.

Notwithstanding the volume of its operations, the company has never been licensed by the Guyana Securities Council (GSC) to conduct securities business in Guyana, or to solicit investments from the public.

Last Saturday, the Bank of Guyana (BOG) released information on the Company’s bank accounts, as well as those of Dominguez and Ishmael, which showed amounts nowhere near the monies said to have been collected over the period it has been in operation here.

“Previous accounts at commercial banks showed transactions, including foreign exchange transactions, which were small and insignificant,” the Central Bank said, adding: “As the investigation continues, the BoG will cooperate with the relevant authorities consistent with its regulatory responsibilities.”
All of AIC’s commercial accounts have since been closed; the largest account in its name is the one at the Bank of Baroda, and the highest balance that account has ever attained was $14.6 million, with a total deposit of $21 million before it was closed in April.

Dominguez also had a personal account at the said Bank of Baroda, in which the highest attained balance was $200,000. That account was also closed in April.
At Demerara Bank Limited, which had denied the company’s application for a Corporate Bank Account, and closed the respective Personal Accounts of both husband and wife in July, the highest balance Dominguez had in his name was $2.3 million, while deposits amounted to $3.5 million.

Ishmael’s account at that bank had the highest balance of $459, 000. Ishmael also had a bank account at the Guyana Bank for Trading and Industry (GBTI), which was closed in January, and had deposits totaling $1.5 million; she also had an account at Republic Bank Limited, which was closed in August, and had total deposits of $2 million. The highest balance in that account was at $341, 000.

Attorney for the couple, Dexter Todd, said his clients never intended to defraud anyone.
“We at this stage are still awaiting the police to say exactly what they are investigating. The police are investigating a number of things, but my client would be more in a position to address specific issues when the police say to him what are the specific issues. At this point in time, what we can say for sure is that my client never intended or acted in any way to defraud any person,” Todd said, when contacted on Sunday.