THE Court of Appeal is expected to soon hand down its judgement in the case of Registrar of Deeds Azeena Baksh, who was found guilty of paying herself just over $4.5M. In March 2020, Baksh was found guilty of procuring money by false pretence while being in the employ of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Magistrate Leron Daly presided over the case at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. Baksh was ordered to repay the State the sum, or serve one year imprisonment.
Dissatisfied, Baksh, through her Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, approached the appellate court, asking that it reverse, set aside and/or discharge the magistrate’s ruling and enter judgment in her favour.
On Tuesday, during a zoom hearing, the court concluded hearing arguments. A date for ruling has to be set.
The Guyana Chronicle had reported that in April 2017, the Ministry of Legal Affairs said that staff of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority (DCRA) had called upon it to investigate complaints of alleged financial improprieties committed by Baksh.
The Human Resource and Accounting Departments of the DCRA had complained that as Head of the Budget Agency and sole person in authority to approve and sign off the payroll of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority, Baksh allegedly unlawfully paid herself gratuity, while knowing that she was a pensionable employee, having been appointed by the Judicial Services Commission.
On July 16, 2012, Baksh was appointed Acting Registrar of the Deeds Registry with a stipulated salary of $326,171 monthly.
She was also entitled to duty, entertainment and house allowances, as well as a subsistence allowance when working out-of-district; duty-free concessions every three years; leave passage allowance and 42 days annual vacation leave; security at her residence; paid residential and mobile phone charges and monthly Internet service charges. The Judicial Services Commission did not grant her gratuity, since she was not a contracted worker.
In May 2014, the Deeds Registry was merged with the Commercial Registry pursuant to the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act.
