Two former members of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) were on Friday arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for 34 fraud-related charges and misappropriating, in excess of, $8.5M of the company’s monies.
The former General Manager (GM), Jagnarine Singh and Former Deputy General Manager(GM), Madanlall Ramraj were charged together along with the former GRDB accountant, Peter Ramcharran. Ramcharran was not present as he resides in Canada and an arrest warrant has been issued for him.
The duo were not required to the plead to the indictable charge which stated that between 2011 and 2012, the former employees, on 17 occasions, failed to make proper entries into the company’s register and between the same period, they, with intent to defraud, omitted or concurred to be omitted $8.5M from the general ledger of the GRDB knowing same to be against the organisation’s operating procedures.
The court also heard that for the same period, the three accused fraudulently took or applied for the monies for their own use or benefit or any use or purpose for the GRDB.
Seventeen other fraudulent misappropriation charges were read to the two accused, all being indictable.
Attorney at Law, Glenn Hanoman, who was representing the duo requested leniency with the bail amount since he reminded the court that the two along with other former GRDB employees had been charged with a similar offence earlier this year.
Hanoman was adamant that a witch hunting exercise conducted by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), in which his clients were hauled before the courts, have made them unemployable and hence financially constrained.
Bail was granted in the sum of $1M and the accused are expected to return to court on November 16, 2017.
