With former Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Power Light (GPL) Aeshwar Deonarine still on the run, police will be proceeding solely against former director Carvil Duncan over the alleged theft of $28M from the company.
Deonarine and Duncan had been jointly charged in January with conspiring with each other to steal $27,757,500 between May 7th and May 8th, last year, and $984, 900, on March 31st, last year, from the company. Duncan had also been separately charged with stealing $984, 900 from GPL on March 31st, last year.
However, Duncan, 73, of Williamstaad Street Festival City, Georgetown, has been the only one present for the court hearings.
He is currently out on $1 million bail.
An arrest warrant was issued for Deonarine, who was reported to have left the country since last year. It was also reported that Interpol was also aiding the local authorities in finding him and bringing him back to Guyana to face the charges.
There has been no progress so far.
As a result, when the matter was called on Thursday, the joint charges were withdrawn after Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan granted an application that was made to do so by the prosecutor. The charges were then reinstituted solely against Duncan and he plead not guilty to both.
The charges stem from payments that were made by Duncan and Deonarine to themselves and which were uncovered by a forensic audit that was commissioned after the APNU+AFC government entered office last year. The money allegedly stolen by Duncan represents retroactive payments for his time on the GPL Board.
Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers indicated that he was ready to proceed with trial and has served Duncan with statements in relation to the simple larceny charge he is solely facing.
Duncan is expected to be back in court on May 6th.
