Decisions made by the Defence Board with respect to Coast Guard head Gary Beaton and his alleged connection to a vehicle transfer scandal is not for the public’s ears, according to Minister of State Joseph Harmon.
“What I can say to you is the decisions of the Defence Board are not decisions which are for public consumption,” Harmon told Stabroek News recently, when asked for an update on the Board’s position on Beaton.
So far, two women, including Beaton’s spouse, former minister Jennifer Westford, have been charged in connection with the scam, which was unearthed soon after the APNU+AFC government took office in May.
Beaton’s name was one of five listed on a document sent in April to Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur, requesting the transfer of registration for three government-owned vehicles. His name was also printed on a cash receipt as having paid $2.1 million for the purchase of three of eight vehicles. The other names on the document were Westford, Wayne Walker, Delroy Lewis, and Osbert McPherson.
Beaton was not charged but observers say that though not found criminally liable this does not stop the army and by extension the Defence Board from handling the matter internally. Observers have said too that the fact that he is closely connected to one of those charged and the fact that he is a senior public servant are reasons even for his part in the scam to be explored by the organisation he represents, aside from a police investigation.
Stabroek News was told that the police investigation found that Beaton was not implicated as having a direct hand in the scam.
Detectives were never looking at Beaton as a major player in the scam. It seems that the police’s position is that the only link between him and the scam is Westford, which was not seen as enough to hold him criminally culpable.
Harmon, who is the Secretary to the Defence Board, had indicated that once a senior army officer’s name was mentioned in such a case, it would be the subject of discussion at the level of the Defence Board.
Harmon had earlier told reporters that the Board was scheduled to meet in August and that the issue regarding Beaton may come up for discussion. He had explained that the discussion had to be triggered by a report from the Chief-of-Staff, which was expected in light of a senior officer being linked to a criminal investigation.
“What I can also say is that we can be guided also by the actions of the police in deciding who they will charge and who they will not charge. Insofar as culpability is concerned, we can be guided by that,” Harmon said.
Westford and Margaret Cummings were charged last month with several counts of forgery and attempted larceny and released on a total of $2 million bail. They were charged based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). It is unclear if charges are likely to be brought against anyone else.
In the early days of the probe, this newspaper was told that the four other persons whose names were listed on documents sent to the GRA were contacted.
Meanwhile, Harmon spoke very highly of Beaton.
“What I can say is that the officer continues to serve. He is serving well in the capacity where he is and I believe that at the point in time whenever his conduct comes up for review—as we will review all the conduct of all senior officers in what is called an annual confidential report, which is prepared on all officers in the force. But at the senior level, I think those matters will come to Defence Board and, at the appropriate time, the Defence Board will make a determination as to whether this officer or any other officer’s conduct is warranting a decision from the Board,” he said.
“As of now, I cannot say to you that such a determination has been made and really I would not want a public statement to affect the career possibility or the perception of an officer who is doing a fairly good job in the capacity where he is serving,” he added.
All the vehicles which were the subject of the probe were later returned to the Ministry of the Presidency.
Meanwhile, Westford remains the subject of a criminal probe.
The police, after completing their investigation, sent over 20 files to the DPP for advice on September 7th. This newspaper has been told that the police may be asked to do additional work.
Following the unearthing of the unauthorised attempt to transfer the registration of several vehicles belonging to the Public Service Ministry, a decision was taken to conduct an in-depth probe of the ministry. It was then that it was discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars could not be accounted for.
The figure was initially pegged at $120 million but is now estimated at over $600 million.
The missing money had been transferred from the former Office of the President to allow for the Public Service Ministry to carry out duties in various regions.
Westford’s farm at Moblissa Linden/Soesdyke Highway was recently searched by police for state assets. After searching for some five hours, the officers left empty-handed.
