Several officers who were fired by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) last week are mulling court action, calling the issue surrounding their dismissal a “cover-up” and relating a tale of illicit sex tapes and alleged blackmail.
Stabroek News understands that four senior employees of the GRA, who had been serving the organisation in varying capacities over the years, including law enforcement, data entry and wharves’ operations were issued termination letters this week. The last, a wharf supervisor, received his letter on Thursday.
The letters only stated that their services were no longer needed. Stabroek News had access to one of the letters, which was brief and the dismissal of the four employees centred on a shipment of suspected counterfeit cigarettes, which was destined for Port Georgetown.
The men are being accused of manipulating the records of the GRA, which would have resulted in a significant loss of taxes associated with the cigarette shipment. The shipment of the 920 cases of suspected counterfeit cigarettes ended up in Suriname.
Reports are that while the employees involved held out that they did nothing wrong in relation to the shipment of cigarettes, the administration of the body have viewed them as being at fault. One of the employees opined that the administration of the revenue body wants “to get certain people out because they know too much”.
According to a source, the cigarette scenario began in early June, when the GRA began to track the shipment from its destination. In August this year, prior to the goods (which originated in China) landing on these shores, the merchant, a Guyanese man living overseas but who had limited connections here, requested that the shipment be transshipped to Suriname since he believed that there was a better market for there.
The GRA granted the request, but when the goods reached Suriname, it was discovered that the merchant did not have the requisite documents and the Dutch authorities sent the shipment back to Guyana at Corentyne. The goods in the container also turned out to be a nightmare for the merchant, since of the 920 cases, only 130 were cigarettes while the remaining boxes were packed with bricks and paper.
The dismissed officers were placed under the microscope by the GRA into the situation in August and reports are that though the former employees provided relevant documentation indicating their actions during the shipment period of the cigarettes, the revenue body decided to part company with them altogether.
Reports are that the issue was brought to the attention of Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon but no action was taken.
The employees in question were last month arrested by the police on an allegation that they were blackmailing two senior GRA officials and they spent close to five nights in the Brickdam lock-ups. Reports are that the blackmail involved two recordings of illicit sexual acts, one involving a minor, which were being circulated within the organisation.
The men were questioned extensively about their role in the recordings, but denied any involvement.
Sources at GRA told Stabroek News yesterday that more employees were facing termination, while others are currently being transferred to other locations across the country.
