It was all disappointment for those implicated in the New Building Society (NBS) multi-million dollar fraud case and their relatives when they turned up in court yesterday only to be told that Magistrate Nyasha Williams-Hatmin was doing remand work at the Camp Street prison and so the case could not be heard.
This is one in a series of adjournments the case has faced since it was brought to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court during the early part of last year.
When Stabroek News arrived at the court yesterday afternoon at the scheduled time for the case, the defendants and their lawyers were standing outside. The courtroom was empty except for the court clerk.
When attorney-at-law Hukumchand, the special prosecutor in the matter, appeared everyone then filed into the court.
Hukumchand and several defence attorneys were seen chatting before word circulated that the case was being adjourned to May 23 because the magistrate was not coming.
In February when the case was last heard the magistrate was forced to adjourn the fraud case involving three former top managers and four employees owing to the non-completion of a related matter in the High Court.
Late last year, the charges against the three former managers were dropped although evidence had already been taken and they were recharged along with four former employees. Shortly after the re-institution of the charges, the lawyers for the three top managers moved to the High Court and since then the magistrate has been forced to give extended adjournments so the case there could be concluded.
On February 20, when the case was called Hukumchand told the court that he could not proceed until the determination of the High Court matter.
But the trio’s lawyers continue to contend that the High Court matter which is before Justice Jainaryan Singh Jr. is only attempting to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from instituting fresh charges.
Maurice Arjoon of 1-2 La Fleur Road, Eccles (Director-Secretary); Kissoon Baldeo, 38, of 86 Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara (Assistant Mortgage Manager) and Kent Vincent of 1247 Canje Pheasant Lane, South Ruimveldt (Operations Manager) are accused of conspiracy to defraud the NBS of $69M along with Ashley Legall, 59, Imran Bacchus, Amarita Prashad, 18, and Mohanram Shahebudin.
The managers were first charged with defrauding the society of the money but as investigations intensified the other four were arrested and subsequently charged.
