Crime Chief Seelall Persaud yesterday said that as far as he is aware there is no criminal investigation into the boat scam involving a number of high level policemen being conducted and he directed all questions on this issue to the Commissioner of Police.
“[The Criminal Investigations Department] is not investigating anything,” Persaud said when asked about the situation. He added that there might be an internal investigation but he was uncertain about it.
Efforts to contact Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell for comment were futile.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, when contacted on the case, said he was not familiar with it and he advised that all queries should be directed to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Home Affairs Ministry has stated that the Permanent Secretary wrote formally to the Commissioner of Police in April requesting “a full and immediate investigation” into the matter.
It was following the publication of a Kaieteur News article that the ministry decided to release a statement on the issue, admitting that a small group of high level policemen took kickbacks in relation to the purchase of the boat in 2009. The boat hardly worked and has since been put up for auction.
“The scam was busted and the culprits at home and abroad were identified. The government demanded repayment of all the money from the local culprits who had collected kickbacks. Some paid while others paid for those who refused to return their share. The money recovered was paid into the Consolidated Fund. The overseas-based vendor was threatened with prosecution. He fixed the boat which sailed for a few weeks and then broke down never to sail again. The government has decided to place the boat up for auction,” the ministry’s release stated, while failing to indicate why charges were not brought against the policemen involved.
Giving a background to the boat deal, the ministry said that in August, 2009, it purchased an ocean-worthy boat for the police force at the cost of $16,974,000. From the day it arrived, there were problems with the boat and “the continuous purchasing of spares and payments for maintenance was placing a heavy toll on the budget of the Guyana Police Force.”
The ministry went on to say that the identification and procurement of the boat had been left to the police force, since it knew the type of craft it wanted. The companies that bid for the vessel were Car Mart – $20,286,000; Rama DBK Ltd – $18,733,500 and Cartronics – IV- $16,974,000. On the basis of a recommendation from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, the release said, Cabinet issued its no objection for the acquisition of the boat from Cartronics – IV.
The ministry statement said that the police were responsible for the processing of payment to the supplier, which they did, as well as for the receipt, inspection and storage of the boat.
According to the ministry, what was intended to be a transparent purchase ended up being a scam involving members of the force. It added that the small group of police officers was in touch with Cartronics – IV and conducted the financial transaction. Based on information received, the statement said that an internal investigation was conducted into the purchase of the boat and that was when the kickbacks were uncovered.
The boat had been received by the police in September 2009. The police force has been in need of ocean-going vessels for patrols and other operations.
AFC member Nigel Hughes, APNU MP Carl Greenidge and the Transparency Institute of Guyana head Gino Persaud have all condemned the manner in which this matter was handled and called for those implicated to be held criminally accountable.
