President Bharrat Jagdeo says the administration is seeking help from agencies in the United States to carry out forensic investigation into the customs duty irregularities involving Fidelity Invest-ments and a number of customs officials following explosive revelations about the evasion of customs duties on beer.
Further, he said that Guyana will pursue laws to make proceeds from corrupt transactions forfeitable, as should be the case in money laundering when the relevant legislation is passed.
Speaking at a press conference at the Office of the President yesterday, Jagdeo said that the Government has received a list of US agencies that are capable of carrying out the investigations. He said that on deciding on the overseas company to assist with the investigation, personnel presently managing the disbursement of funds from the Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Pro-gramme will work along with the US investigating company. This programme is providing funds for capacity building in the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Last month, a key Fidelity figure fingered top GRA officials in the scandal revealing how the company had entrusted a customs broker with $142 million to get the shipment from the wharf. The man reportedly came up with a deal with CTA to clear the Polar beers under the category of ‘assorted soft drinks’, which draws less tax than beers. The sum of $32 million was then paid to the revenue body in taxes and another $70 million was paid to a top customs official who allowed the shipment to leave the wharf and who allegedly facilitated documents being falsified for Fidelity.
Regarding the public concerns on the integrity of the investigation, the President said that Commissioner General of the GRA Khurshid Sattaur is the only GRA staffer who is involved in the probe. Some letter writers to this newspaper have said that the integrity of the investigation will be tainted once the GRA was directly involved. The team also comprises personnel from the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Auditor General and the Police.
Jagdeo said that the case that is being built by the investigating team is based on Fidelity coming forward and surrendering information that the company did not import soft drink but beer. In this vein, the President spoke of the need to have plea bargaining legislation that would see more lenient penalties meted out to offending parties who cooperate and provide information that could lead to further prosecutions.
Jagdeo said that even in the case of no such legislation, an arrangement could still be worked out where some measure of leniency is the recompense for providing damning information. He said that the customs officers couldn’t give a consistent description of the soft drinks they said they examined.
Jagdeo noted that the team is looking at the money trail in the investigation and said that no official of the company will be immune to prosecution, whether or not the person served in the Government as a Minister. He noted that some staff of the GRA had been sent home and a number of more senior GRA personnel were preparing their case. He expressed the hope that the sanctions meted out to those found culpable is stronger than a sending home.
Jagdeo said that with the appropriate legislation in place, those involved in such matters and who cannot account for their assets will have these forfeited.
The President maintained his position that he is not prepared for anyone coming to him and proclaiming their innocence. He insists that they take their concerns to the investigating team.
A GRA official is said to have collected an inducement of $70M to facilitate the shipment leaving the wharf. This person had been sent on indefinite leave, this person said. Observers believe that the focus of the investigation is the revenue body while Fidelity Investments seemed to have escaped thus far despite the revelations that have been made.
Jagdeo reiterated that if Fidelity is guilty it would have to pay the penalty. He said that the company has already had to pay compensation to the GRA. Such compensation is at the discretion of the Commissioner General of the GRA but it is standard that the amount owed, or evaded, is usually multiplied by three and this is charged as the fine.
Critics have said that criminal charges should be brought against the culpable Fidelity officials.
