Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall says he has filed an appeal in the Buddy’s fuel case and is awaiting a date for the matter to be heard.

In April 2008 the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) appointed prosecutor had told this newspaper that he intended to appeal the decision in the matter and had already filed a notice of appeal in the High Court. At the time, he said he had not yet submitted the grounds for the appeal as he was awaiting the written decision of the magistrate and would do so as soon as he was in receipt of it.

In March 2008, after more than two years in the courts, the case against the 11 accused in the $6 million Buddy’s fuel bust was discharged by Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Providence Magistrate’s Court. In her ruling, the magistrate had described the case as presented by the prosecution as “water fetched in a basket” and said that it was replete with errors.

When contacted last week, Nandlall said he had filed the appeal and was now awaiting a date from the Full Court for the hearing of the matter.

Deonarine Singh of 104 Collingswood, Nandy Park, EBD; Wazir Mohamed of 28 North Road, Bourda; Clement Huntley of 39 Wisroc, Linden; Fitzgerald London of 494 Canvas City, Linden; Sanicharran Ramgolam of Number 64 Village, Corentyne; Ceezann Vandelwin of the Pomeroon River; Errol Prince of 43 Garnett Street, Kitty; Joseph Allen of Diamond Squatting Area, EBD; Ramsahai Basdeo of Lot 101 Cornelia New Housing Scheme and Osbern Richards of Supenaam, Essequibo Coast had been jointly charged with possession of fuel at Buddy’s farm at Coverden without the relevant marking in the right proportion and possession of illegal fuel in a quantity exceeding 2,000 litres without a licence.

Businessman Omprakash `Buddy’ Shivraj, on whose property the alleged illegal fuel was found was charged with possession of illegal fuel and storage of illegal fuel.

The trials of the ten accused and Shivraj’s were merged. One of the main witnesses in the case, former head of the GEA, Joseph O’Lall has since died.