Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur is denying that the agency’s seizure of two vehicles belonging to family friends of Kaieteur News publisher Glen Lall is an act of persecution, while saying it is part of a wider investigation into the use of vehicles imported by remigrants that began since the start of the year.
However, Lall is charging that the GRA’s seizure of the vehicles, which were used by him and his wife, was in retaliation for his newspaper’s exposés of government wrongdoings.
Sattaur yesterday told Stabroek News that the media interest surrounding the probe into whether remigrants Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan owed taxes on the vehicles and their link to Lall was being fed by Lall himself.
Sattaur said the issue was with the remigrants and the possibility that they owed over $102 million in taxes on the two luxury Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), which were brought into the country through concessions granted under the remigrant scheme.
He said there was an ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud and that the Auditor General’s office would need to speak to the Brijnanans. He added that the investigation would need to determine how long the remigrants owned the vehicles prior to them being brought into Guyana and if in fact they were in possession of the vehicles once they were brought into the country.
Sattaur expressed frustration that Lall had chosen to get himself involved in the matter after “civic minded” individuals exposed details of the ongoing investigation and Lall’s connection to the Brijnanans, which was first made public by the Guyana Chronicle.
He also claimed that since the beginning of this year the Auditor General’s office has been investigating the use of some 600 vehicles imported over the past three years by remigrants.
The GRA boss also said the way the investigation was progressing and the Lall’s involvement could possibly lead to the remigrants being questioned on where the money to purchase the vehicles came from. He said querying where remigrants would have obtained money to purchase vehicles was not the norm but given the ferocity with which the investigation has been attacked by the Kaieteur News owner, it would need to be further looked into.
Sattaur also claimed that under the remigrant programme persons would need to go into or make contact with the GRA every six months to ensure that the concessions provided for under the remigrant programme were being properly utilised.
Sattaur said the investigation had nothing to do with the Kaieteur News’ recent stories on Chinese company Bai Shan Lin and the duty free concessions granted to the company. He stated too that Lall seemed to think he was above the law and that was not the case. He noted that if Lall wanted to expose Bai Shan Lin, he needed to be held to the same standard.
Stabroek News asked why an investigation that was underway since January was only now being made public. Sattaur said that were it not for the “civic minded” individuals who took the matter to the Guyana Chronicle, it most likely would not have be brought to light by the media as querying remigrant vehicles was procedural.
He said he found no reason why this would create public interest, considering that the findings of the Auditor General’s office had not been finalised. He explained that usually the vehicles are taken to the detention centre and the remigrants are asked to show their declaration forms and within a couple of hours the vehicles are released.
In this case, however, the remigrants’ son is a senior customs officer, Navin Sankar. Sattaur said the norm was that anyone involved in an ongoing investigation would be removed from duty and the media would need to read between the lines. He refrained from confirming that this was the current situation with Sankar.
He also did not mention that Sankar had produced the relevant documentation when GRA officers attempted to seize the two vehicles which were parked at Continental Park, East Bank Demerara on Friday. However, he expressed disappointment that Sankar had attempted to stop the officials from seizing the vehicles. Sattaur said Sankar was attempting to put obstacles in the way of the seizure and chose to “have a standoff with his own organisation,” and he asserted that “something was amiss.”
Sankar eventually drove the vehicles into the GRA’s bond in Eccles the next day.
Meanwhile, Sattaur said that Lall’s conduct towards him was alarming given that the GRA was just doing its job. He said he would be filing a police report after having received a threatening phone call from Lall, who has since refuted this.
Speaking to Stabroek News, Lall said he told Sattaur that “all his nasty, corrupt and wicked ways will be exposed. And if that is considered a threat, then so be it.”
Lall, who noted that the Brijnanans have been family friends for over 27 years, admitted that he would borrow the vehicles and use them from time to time. “Both vehicles are legitimate and I am not aware of any irregularities. So, this crap Sattaur want to paint as taxes being lost is nonsense,” he said.
