Westford, Cummings charged with stealing over $639M

- bail set at $4.8M each

Former Minister of Public Service Jennifer Westford and the ministry’s past Chief Personnel Officer Margaret Cummings were yesterday arraigned on 24 charges alleging they stole more than $639 million from the Government of Guyana.

They were both granted $200,000 bail on each charge read, amounting to a total of $4.8 million to be paid to the court.

Westford, a current parliamentarian for the opposition PPP/C, and Cummings were made to stand in the prisoner’s dock yesterday when the indictable charges were read to them by Magistrate Judy Latchman. The two were represented by Senior Counsel Rex McKay in association with attorneys Neil Boston, Bibi Shadick, Keisha Chase, Dexter Todd, Eusi Anderson and Brenden Glasford.

 Margaret Cummings
Margaret Cummings

The charges state that between the period of October 19, 2011 and April 28, 2015, Westford and Cummings, while being employed with the Public Service Ministry, stole $639,420,000 belonging to the Government of Guyana, which they received by virtue of employment.

The allegations, as presented by the prosecution, are that between 2011 and 2015, Westford signed 24 memorandums amounting to $639,420,000 and sent them to the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the President to be signed and approved. The money was claimed to be requested for activities to be conducted in the 10 administrative regions.

Jennifer Westford
Jennifer Westford

Investigations later revealed, however, that there was no documentation to show how the cash was spent and no money was ever recovered.

Applications for bail were entered by McKay and Boston, who made the pleas on behalf of Westford and Cummings, respectively.

McKay reminded the court that consideration for a bail application should not be about punishing the accused, but about ensuring they returned for trial. He stated further that since investigations into the matter began, Westford has been reporting to authorities as required and has no intentions of leaving the country.

Boston told the court that Cummings is a “fit and proper person” to be granted bail, making reference to her 17 years of service at the Office of the President. He too pointed out that Cummings has attended all court matters regarding other charges being faced in the court.

Their applications were however, countered by prosecutor Bharat Mangru, whose objections caused quite a stir among the defence attorneys.

Mangru objected based on the seriousness of the charge, the amount of money involved, the penalty the charges attract and the possibility of witness tampering, which he said can be easily fostered given Westford’s status in society.

Boston asked that, among other things, penalty not be a factor for bail consideration as if persons were granted bail for offences such as causing death and manslaughter, surely his clients could be granted bail on what he referred to as “Mickey Mouse” matters.

Magistrate Latchman granted the accused bail in the sum of $200,000 for each count of the charge and ordered that they lodge their passports with the court today. The matter has been adjourned to February 22 for report.

In July, 2015, Cummings and Westford were granted a combined $2 million in bail after being slapped with several charges of forgery and attempted larceny at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Westford was read four charges of attempting to commit larceny, while Cummings’ charges were four counts of forgery.

In that matter, Westford was alleged to have attempted to transfer several government owned vehicles to herself and others. Meanwhile, Cummings was charged with forging several receipts to show that the vehicles were legitimately purchased by Westford and the other parties involved.