Stabroek Business has been reliably informed that the operations of some of the country’s large importers could come under scrutiny by the team set up to probe the recent allegations of fraud involving officials of the Customs and Trade Administra-tion and the local distribution company Fidelity. The source told this newspaper that if the investigation is to move in the direction outlined in President Jagdeo’s recent pronouncements on the matter “we should not be surprised if the investigating team shows an interest in some large importers and their operations.” President Jagdeo had said at a press conference last week that the Customs probe could go far deeper than the Fidelity matter giving rise to speculation that long-standing concerns over revenue evasion that causes the public treasury to lose billions of dollars and enriches Customs functionaries could also become part of the probe.
The source told Stabroek Business that the involvement of businessmen in the Cus-toms probe could begin with some importers being interviewed by the investigating team “in the near future.”
