No criminal charges have been laid against anyone for the multimillion-dollar Polar beer fraud at Customs, despite recommendations by a special task force that several officers be prosecuted for their part in the scheme.
Since the release of the task force report in January, the file has been sitting with Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, who has consistently avoided questions on the report.
Stabroek News made numerous attempts to contact the DPP, and has been repeatedly told that she is unavailable. Subsequent visits to her office also proved futile.
Acting Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, who headed the task force, said last week that the report is being actively followed up by the DPP’s office. He said that the DPP has been in touch with him, and he was optimistic that her findings would be known soon.
“..She is dealing with it. It’s not lying low,” Sharma said in reference to the report, while adding that the DPP is carefully scrutinizing the report before deciding on any likely charges.
The task force report, which was released in January and was forwarded to the DPP Chambers for advice, concluded that fake documents were submitted to Customs by both the broker and Fidelity Investments Inc and charges were recommended against a top Fidelity Investments Limited official, a broker and 14 Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) employees from various departments who were said to be complicit in the fraud. Some persons had been dismissed even before the completion of the report.
It also concluded that it was Polar beer that had been imported and not soft drinks as had been claimed by some Customs employees. Furthermore, while a price of US$2.15 per case had been listed by Fidelity, an investigative team that travelled to Venezuela found that Fidelity had been sold the beer at US$4.40 per case.
The report, submitted to President Bharrat Jagdeo, also made a number of recommendations to plug loopholes in the Guyana Revenue Authority and lamented that key cameras had not been functioning at a time when it would have been useful for the investigation. It also found that the software suite for the GRA had been manipulated. The payment of millions in duties in cash and the disappearance of key documents have also raised questions.
Sharma was asked to head the task force set up by the President in April last year to investigate allegations made by a top Fidelity Investments Limited official about an organized scheme to smuggle Polar beer into the country.
Fidelity had reportedly proposed a deal with the revenue body: that it would reveal how 73,000 cases of Polar beer were cleared from the wharf without duties being paid in exchange for charges instituted against the company to be dropped.
The Fidelity official then fingered top GRA officials contending that the company had entrusted a customs broker with $142 million to get the shipment from the wharf and the man reportedly arranged with Customs to clear the Polar beer as “assorted soft drinks”, since this attracted less tax. The sum of $32 million was then paid to the GRA in taxes and another $70 million was paid to a top customs official who allowed the shipment to leave the wharf and who was also alleged to have facilitated documents being falsified for Fidelity.
However, a few days after this went down, a report was made to the GRA hierarchy and it rushed to seal the Fidelity bond at Broad Street.
The customs broker, when approached by the authorities, produced documents showing that soft drinks had been cleared from the wharf and not beer.
Fidelity has since denied ever bribing any Customs officials.
The Polar beer fraud grabbed national attention in April last year, resulting in President Jagdeo initiating a task force to conduct an investigation.
Once again, it appears that a “BIG SHOT” is in the eyes of the law, so let us delay as long as possible, so the individual will leave the country, or the file will disappear.
you think he will get prosecuted? Fat Chance.
The other issue at hand here and this is what I speak about the carelessness of this government and how backwards they are.
You have an importer that is not really creating any jobs per say and here he is jeopardizing real jobs and a fair tax paying corporate citizen (DIH) and the government does nothing to penalize this chap even though DIH has been complaining for years and the evidence is there. There are other similarities though the buddy’s fuel smuggling case etc. That ain’t going anywhere but under the rug also.
There are many and I say many business men that are under immense pressure by the jagdeo administration to the point where many of them are shutting down parts of their operations and shedding jobs right now as I type because they just cannot deal with this anti business government right now.
You cannot foster business and growth with what you have at home organically you are going to bring foreign investors here. Come on people pick sense from nonsense Jagdeo is a massive failure, when this chapter in history is thoroughly analyzed people will have seen what a waste this chap and his government has been.
I am not the only one calling this like it is, Chris Ram and several others have been saying this for years.
The clico debacle is another example of how irresponsible this govt is.
This govt has its priorities stuck firmly you know where, Remember the time when Jagdeo’s gov’t was busy trying to divert molasses from DDL to Lawrence Duprey who was starting a Distillery in TT?
This again at the expense of a local business with massive investment and employment on the ground in GY. DDL had to file an injunction to stop that move.
People need to wake up, the business community is already starting to wisen up many are quietly supporting the AFC and that is why JAgdeo hollering is where dey getting dis money from? is whey i cannot believe they have money to place ads and try and embarras wee.
News for you jagdeo AFC cannot embarrass you, you have to have shame for the AFC to embarrass you.
None will be instituted either
…if this is allowed to fizzle… then we know why ! and those involved will be brought back if they leave ! ,, when they leave the country ,, we know who they r ,, and when the clean up starts after 2011 ,,,, many will be put to the stake !….
What a shame,and disgrace no one has been charged, while others were fired.
EXTRACTED: “Since the release of the task force report in January, the file has been sitting with Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, who has consistently avoided questions on the report.”
This is the first time I am reading that the report was submitted to the DPP, because all along news accounts kept saying the report was sent to the OP and no action was yet taken.
Still, you have to wonder why no charges have yet been filed (when does the statute of limitation expire on this?) but the government could have proceeded with speed to fire nine CANU officers who failed a polygraph test! They were not fired for being guilty of criminal corruption; only failing a lie detector test.
And here you have a presidential task force set up to probe the Polar beer scam recommending prosecutions for certain players and no indictments have been handed down since January.
As long as the government allows a double standard for criminals – one gets off and the other gets prosecuted – the government opens itself to being accused of being criminally corrupt.
Lemme see stabruk you aint gonna publish my blog above either right? too many facts to digest?
sum ting really wong in that country.
This Administration (PPP)has been in office for only Sixteen (16) years.I would suggest that we give them another twelve (12)years so that in the meantime they can learn how to charge and prosecute corrupt officials.
Rasta another 12 years for what? haven’t we learned anything the past 17 years?
Time to ditch these folks they have to be fired from the job, they failed, Next contestant!
Brethren, it’s called Sarcasm.
Brethren ah just rubbin it in, rhetorical >>>
HEAR YE HEAR YE!!!! AND THERE WILL NOT BE ANY CHARGES LAID EITHER. SO YOU PEOPLE HOPING FOR SAME JUST MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC. I KNOW, I KNOW I AM JUST A BUNDLE OF OPTIMISIM.