– staff should include top-class investigators, lawyers, accountants and auditors

By Rabindra Rooplall
GOVERNMENT will ensure that the Special Organised Crime unit (SOCU) functions autonomously while pursuing its mandate of investigating Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) offences.
This is according to Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall.

“No serious offence has been instituted against anyone and there has been no conviction of any worth over the past five years; and that has to do with the enforcement arm of the AML/CFT which is SOCU, not being allowed to function in the manner it was set up to function,” the attorney general noted.

The legal affairs minister had repeatedly said that SOCU is the enforcement arm of the AML/CFT structure and should be staffed with top-class investigators, lawyers, accountants, financial investigators and auditors among others.
This body he said is supposed to pursue information supplied to them by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to investigate and recommend charges.

“SOCU has been used by the previous administration as a political witch-hunting tool against us who were in the opposition at the time, so we have to reorient SOCU, properly equip SOCU and allow SOCU to discharge its statutory mandate under the AML/CFT Act,” Nandlall said.

However, on Friday, SOCU won its first case against a man who was “busted” with money hidden in cans of paint at the Springlands, Berbice crossing.

The sum of $6M was ordered forfeited to the state.
Michael Bagot, a Guyanese, was intercepted on March 12, 2020 while coming from Suriname and having in his possession €24, 530.00 (the equivalent of G$6M) concealed in cans of paint.

The Springlands-Berbice crossing at reference is not the officially designated point of entry between Guyana and neighbouring Suriname.

Bagot was arrested by the police for failing to present himself to the immigration authorities and to declare whatever foreign currency he had on him that was over the prescribed limit set out by the Foreign Exchange (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Chapter 86:01, Laws of Guyana.

Subsequent to his arrest, SOCU approached the Supreme Court for an interim order to confiscate the sum of €24, 530.00, in accordance with Section 37 (2) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act Chapter 10: 11, Laws of Guyana.

The learned Chief Justice Madame Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC, granted the detention order for the police to lawfully detain the currency on March 17, 2020; said Order was further extended on June 12, 2020 for three months, pending the hearing and determination of the Fixed-Date Application.

The Commissioner of Police, through the Chambers of the Attorney-General, commenced legal proceedings for the civil forfeiture of the said sum, whereby written submissions were made before Madame Justice JoAnn Barlow.
The court eventually found that based on the manner of concealment of the money in paint cans, it could be inferred that said monies came from unspecified criminal conduct.

It was also found that Bagot failed to provide information disclosing the source of said concealed money, and that on previous occasions he had left the jurisdiction from the designated immigration point of entry and exit, but when he re-entered Guyana, it was through the “back-track” route.

In light of the foregoing, the court ruled that the sum of €24, 530.00 would be forfeited to the state. There was no Order as to costs.