Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Monday revealed that the government has complied with a request by the “Ponzi Scheme” operators to open a local bank account so that they can refund investors, however, no monies have been deposited.
“An account was opened at commercial bank but to date not a cent has been returned to that account,” Nandlall explained.
Yuri Garcia-Dominguez, a naturalised Cuban national, along with his wife Ateeka Ishmael, are facing close to 60 charges in relation to the illegal operation conducted under the name Accelerated Capital Firm Incorporated (ACFI).
The company swindled millions of dollars out of thousands of Guyanese and now, authorities are unable to locate the money to compensate those who have been affected.
ACFI, in a statement on August 25, had said the funds necessary to refund the clients are ready to be disbursed.
In its statement, the company made several requests from the authorities, including to be allowed to reopen a bank account in order to transfer funds from its Bitcoin Wallets to repay all investors.
Nandlall explained that the Government has since complied with that request however, the account remains empty.
He explained that the arrested persons then requested access to computer to do certain transactions to “bring back the money”. The computer was provided however, they complained about poor internet connectivity.
They were then taken to another location with high-speed internet but still, no money has been returned to the account.
Nandlall said the investigations are continuing and authorities are determined to get back the money.
In fact, he said the probe is expanding and moving in the direction of anti-money laundering.
According to the AG, all information provided by the arrested persons on the whereabouts of the money have been “fully investigated” but they have led to nowhere.
He said the accounts and companies that were allegedly holding the money in various countries were found to be non-existing.
