The Ministry of Housing and Water has advised the public that the CH&PA is the only agency authorised to allocate and receive payments for house lots and urged the public to be wary of a fraudster by the name of `Satesh’ who has collected large sums.
At a press briefing on Thursday at his Brickdam office, Minister Irfaan Ali said the ministry and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will prosecute persons who perpetrate fraud and those found to be colluding with these tricksters. Over the past year, the ministry has discovered several scams, all of which are currently being investigated, a report from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
Ali said the public can safeguard itself from becoming victimised by reading public notices and advisories about persons posing as ministry staff to deceive them. The ministry is currently working with police to bring to justice a fraudster using the name ‘Satesh’ who has issued more than five letters after collecting $250,000 each for house lots in an area that is not under development by the CH&PA.
“We want to make it categorically clear that those persons who are party to these frauds continue to be a problem for us because they are not heeding our advice,” Ali said, adding that persons who are party to fraud are equally culpable.
Last year, six individuals were identified as fraudsters, posing as ministry staff and collecting huge amounts of money from persons after promising them house lots. Four of these tricksters are currently before the courts while two remain at large.
The ministry advised the public to desist from entering into transactions which do not emanate from its offices.
