Irfaan Ali on 19 fraud charges over Pradoville Two

Irfaan Ali (centre) flanked by PPP/C supporters as he addressed members of the media outside of the courtroom.

Nineteen charges of conspiracy to defraud by common law, were yesterday instituted against former PPP/C Minister of Housing, Mohammed Irfaan Ali by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), after nearly two years of investigations.

The charges, which detail offences alleged to have occurred between the period of September, 2010 to March 30, 2015, are in connection with the Pradoville 2 Housing Scheme on the East Coast of Demerara, and involve housing allocations to six Cabinet members—then president Bharrat Jagdeo, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon and ministers Priya Manickchand, Dr Jennifer Westford, Robert Persaud and Clement Rohee—along with other persons with connections to the government.

The basis of the charges is that the lands were sold far below their value. It is unclear if any action is contemplated against the recipients of the land.