After less than half an hour, the trial into the US$2M Guyflag insurance scam had to be adjourned to allow police time to get the original copy of the claim form that the witness was testifying about.
Inspector Trevor Reid who is attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was the latest prosecution witness to take to the stand to give evidence in the matter, which is being heard by Magistrate Hazel Octive Hamilton in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Led in his evidence-in-chief by Police Prosecutor Robert Clement, the policeman told the court that on October 20, 2005 he received a copy of the Fire and Perils form by way of fax from Gregory Aiden who was in Barbados. Because the document was not the original, objections were raised and the magistrate was forced to adjourn that the prosecution could seek advice regarding the document. The matter is set for July 8.
Aiden is one of the witnesses slated to testify for the prosecution.
Frederick Sukhdeo, who is accused of being the mastermind of the insurance scam committed on the church, was present for yesterday’s proceedings. His lawyer Sanjeev Datadin was also there.
It is alleged that on December 29, 2004, Sukhdeo, with intent to defraud forged a document purporting to be a GuyFlag fire and perils claim for US$2 million ($400 million) for the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. The church was completely destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 2004. Sukhdeo is also accused of trying to obtain the said sum of money by virtue of a forged fire and perils claim form.
According to the facts of the case, GuyFlag submitted a bogus claim for payment to its reinsurance agent AON Re and Sukhdeo, who was the head of the sister operation, the National Cooperative Credit Union Limited, was presented as a representative of the church dealing with the fire. It was when GuyFlag/Sukhdeo allegedly approached a claims adjuster here that the alleged scam was discovered and he was arrested on November 17, 2005 and placed on $50,000 station bail.
He was charged with forgery and endeavouring to obtain upon a forged document. In August last, the prosecution opened its case with testimony from Roman Catholic Bishop Francis Alleyne.
