Commissioner of Police Leslie James has signaled plans for changes at the embattled Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).
“…The operations of SOCU [are] under scrutiny at the moment and actions are being taken as we speak… Very soon you will see a new SOCU, personnel, etc,” James told reporters on Friday.
SOCU has recently come under scrutiny once again as a result of the dismissal of a significant fraud case that was in its charge.
Several fraud charges against six former Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) members were dismissed on October 17th by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly after SOCU Special Prosecutor Lawrence Harris failed to make an appearance when the matter was called.
Given Harris’ absence on at least three consecutive occasions, counsel for the accused persons, Anil Nandlall and Glenn Hanoman, applied for the charges to be dismissed.
Those freed of their charges were: Jagnarine Singh, former GRDB General Manager; Prema Roopnarine, former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Ricky Ramraj, agricultural consultant; Badrie Persaud, business consultant; Dharamkumar Seeraj, the General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association and a Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP); and Nigel Dharamlall, also a PPP/C MP.
Their charges related to their alleged failure to record entries for funds amounting to over $200 million in the agency’s general ledger.
James stated that the matter is currently being addressed and only as recent as Thursday he met with members of SOCU, including a few of the prosecutors.
“Let me make it very clear, notwithstanding the fact that SOCU does in fact come under the Commissioner of Police and by extension the Guyana Police Force, SOCU, the prosecutors of SOCU, that is what I have inherited. They were not necessary recruited by the Guyana Police Force,” James explained.
“Matter of fact, I can also say publicly that since my accession as Commissioner I have met with all members of SOCU,” he added.
In February, James had initiated an audit of SOCU following claims of grave mismanagement, including the misuse of its operational fund.
That audit, which covered the last three years, was completed sometime in April and the final report was handed over to the Top Cop.
Among the more than a dozen recommendations made by the force’s Audit Department was the immediate transfer of former head of SOCU Sydney James and his secretary.
On May 3rd, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had said that the “damning” findings of the police audit required the “shifting around” of persons and possibly firings.
“I understand that action will be taken by the Commissioner…I saw the report and it is not a very nice report,” Ramjattan had said in response to questions from this newspaper.
In early July, Sydney James was sent on administrative leave.
Days after, it was announced that Althea Padmore would be acting as the Head of the unit.
In early September, Ramjattan had announced that while the contract of Sydney James has not expired, he will not be returning to the unit.
President David Granger has also said that the unit will not be dismantled and assured that government will work to ensure public confidence in it is restored.
