FORMER Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, was acquitted of misconduct charges in public office by City Magistrate, Leron Daly, who upheld a no-case submission on Tuesday.
During the paper committal hearing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Daly upheld the argument of Jordan’s lawyers that their client did not meet the definition of a ‘Public Officer,’ which was a crucial element of the indictment.
Jordan appeared in court for the first time in December 2021 and was released on $3 million bail. He was not required to plead to the charge since it was an indictable offence.
It was alleged that, while serving as Finance Minister under the APNU+AFC coalition government, Jordan committed willful misconduct by acting recklessly when he signed the NICIL (Transfer of Property) Order, No. 50 of 2020. NICIL, the government’s holding company, fell under Jordan’s ministerial portfolio.
The substantive matter relates to Jordan transferring and vesting to BK Marine Inc. all buildings, erections, stellings, platforms, and further appurtenances at Mud Lots One and Two, F of Mud Lot Three, A, B and D, being over 2.553 acres.
In that transaction, it was reported that $20,260,276 was paid for a property initially valued at over $5,000,000,000. The selling price was reportedly grossly below the actual value of the assets sold.
The prosecution argued that that amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust without reasonable excuse or justification.
Jordan’s lawyer Dawn Cush had contested that their client was not a ‘Public Officer’. The former Finance Minister was also represented by fellow APNU coalition party members, Attorneys-at-law Roysdale Forde S.C., Khemraj Ramjattan, Joseph Harmon, and Darren Wade.
However, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor, Neville Jeffers, previously submitted that Chief Justice Roxane George addressed the precedent in the case of Winston Brassington and Dr. Ashni Singh versus the Chief Magistrate.
In that case, Dr. Singh, who was also a finance minister, was considered to be a Public Officer, and Article 232 of the Constitution of Guyana provides that a ‘Public Officer’ means the holder of any public office and includes any person appointed to act in such an office.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the Magistrate, after going through the evidence in the case upheld the lawyer’s submission and found that the state had failed to present sufficient evidence to establish that Jordan met the criteria of a ‘Public Officer.’
She concluded that Jordan’s role was that of a ‘Minister’ and not a ‘Public Officer.’
Previously, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus had recused themselves from presiding over the matter, resulting in it reassigned to Magistrate Daly.
