Court to rule next week on falsification charges against ex-GRDB accountant

Peter Ramcharran
Peter Ramcharran

Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday announced that she would be making a ruling next week on the five charges laid against former Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) accountant Peter Ramcharran for allegedly falsifying the entity’s accounts.

The five charges against Ramcharran, who is being tried by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court One, allege that while being the accountant of the GRDB, he omitted to enter a total in excess of $414 million in the GRDB ledger.

At yesterday’s hearing, Chief Magistrate McLennan informed Ramcharran that she was setting February 7th as the date when she would make a decision on whether he is guilty of the charges.

After the determination of the current charges, Ramcharran is due to face trial for 16 misappropriation charges that are based on the allegation that he, former GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh and Agricultural Consultant Madanlall Ramraj fraudulently took or applied to their own use and benefit, or for any other purpose other than the use of GRDB, over $5.1 million, between January 8th, 2010 and January 17th, 2017.

Additionally, 17 charges remain against Ramcharran based on the allegation that as a member of the GRDB, he omitted or concurred in omitting from the organisation’s general ledger, entries related to a total of over $7 million in various periods between January 11th, 2010 and July 17th, 2012.