Indicted Guyanese pilot Khamraj Lall is expected to appear before US Judge Magistrate Bruce J McGirverin to formally enter a guilty plea to bulk cash smuggling, according to recent court filings.
In April after two months of negotiations with the prosecution Lall’s lawyer, Rafael F Castro Lang, in a court filing said his client wished to change his plea to one of guilty “pursuant to a plea agreement with the government.” Following the judge’s announcement on Monday, the lawyer indicated that he would be out of the jurisdiction on that date but requested that the hearing proceed in his absence.
Searches of Lall’s private aircraft during a refuelling stop at the Luis Munoz International Airport, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 22 last year, uncovered US$620,000 stashed on board. Lall was travelling to Guyana at the time.
Lall, authorities had said, accepted responsibility and ownership for the money and informed that his co-pilot and his father, who were travelling with him at the time, had nothing to do with the cash.
According to the grand jury indictment, Lall, with the intent to evade a currency reporting requirement, knowingly concealed more than US$10,000 and transported and transferred and attempted to transport and transfer such currency and monetary instruments from Puerto Rico to Guyana, in violation of United States Code 5332(a) (1) and (2).
In addition to bulk cash smuggling indictment, Lall is also the subject of a forfeiture action brought by the US government for a total of US$442,743 held in 14 accounts controlled by him, his wife Nadinee, his mother or connected businesses.
