Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George has thrown out an application made by the couple accused of operating a Ponzi Scheme in Guyana, to have their accounts unfrozen and the charges against them dismissed.
Cuban national Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his Guyanese wife Ateeka Ishmael, are facing over 70 charges for obtaining money by false pretence.
The duo had filed an application in the High Court seeking Orders of Prohibition against the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to have the charges against them dismissed.
The couple had also sought an Order of Prohibition against Attorney General Anil Nandlall, to stop him from directing the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Guyana Securities Council, Bank of Guyana and the Guyana Police Force to investigate Dominguez and his company, Accelerated Capital Firm.
An Order Mandamus was also sought against Nandlall, to have him unfreeze and release Dominguez’s local bank accounts at Demerara and Republic Banks.
Nandlall filed an application of his own, seeking the dismissal of Dominguez’s application. In her ruling, which was handed down a few days ago, the Chief Justice upheld Nandlall’s submissions and stated that Dominguez provided no evidence in his affidavit to support the orders he sought.
For instance, the CJ noted that Dominguez provided no evidence that there is any law allowing an Order of Prohibition to be granted against a Police Commissioner to stop the institution of charges. Nor was any evidence provided that the Attorney General had been directing the investigations into Dominguez.
When it comes to the order sought against the DPP, Nandlall revealed that the applicant was unable to address the court when asked for a response. Additionally, the applicant admitted that orders sought to have the Attorney General unfreeze bank accounts were not within his jurisdiction but rather, Central Bank. The orders were therefore ruled to be “misconceived.”
“The Chief Justice ruled in favour of the Attorney General. The Chief Justice in the course of her ruling stated that the applicants failed to adduce any evidence in support of the reliefs sought in their Fixed Date Application against the Attorney General, Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions. Costs were awarded to the Attorney General in the sum of $250,000 and that same is to be paid on or before the 31st December 2020,” the AG informed in a statement.
Together, Garcia-Dominguez and his wife are facing 70-plus charges for obtaining monies by false pretence from some 17,000 people. They are said to have obtained over $200 million. On October 12, 2020, the couple began reimbursing persons who had invested in their company, Accelerated Capital Firm Incorporated (ACFI).
However, the refunds came to an unexpected halt a few days later after ranks from the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) raided their home at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, and seized several pieces of equipment they claimed were vital in processing the refund transactions. Only 27 persons had been refunded at the time.
The ranks had a warrant to search and seize monies, devices, and financial documents that would assist in their money laundering investigations. But no monies were found at the couple’s home. Instead, Police ranks seized several borrowed computers, cell phones and personal documents including birth, marriage and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) certificates.
Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd, who represents them, has since filed judicial review proceedings in the High Court, asking that all charges and investigations against them be discontinued immediately. The couple has also asked the High Court to order the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to discontinue all charges against them. They are also asking the court to order the police to cease all investigations against them.
In the meantime, the couple is out on over $30 million bail with instructions to lodge their passports and report to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters.
