The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday announced that it is preparing to request the police force to investigate how the Kaieteur News has managed to access “sensitive and confidential” information about the agency’s activities.
GRA Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur, who expressed alarm at publications made in the Kaieteur News newspaper, also disclosed that there had been attempts to illegally access one of the GRA’s email accounts.
An internal investigation is already underway, according to a GRA statement issued yesterday, in which Sattaur is quoted as saying that the content of the articles published in the Kaieteur News suggest that the newspaper and publisher Glenn Lall have been able “to successfully infiltrate and corrupt staff within the agency to obtain sensitive and confidential information.”
The newspaper has recently published what appeared to be email exchanges between Sattaur and Attorney-General Anil Nandlall discussing actions to be taken against the Kaieteur News, which the newspaper contends is the target of a plot to shut it down. It also suggested that Sattaur released tax information on the four daily newspapers to former president Bharrat Jagdeo.
Sattaur, according to the GRA, said that in the three decades that he has been employed within the GRA and the twelve years that he has been the Commissioner-General, “there has never been a disclosure of confidential taxpayer information or even an allegation that there has been such disclosure.”
He did, however, admit that “a comprehensive audit of Kaieteur News Holding Company was warranted” and said that the initial analysis was prompted by the recent discovery of incidents relating to the evasion of taxes by the company on imported ink and irregular and unlawful evasion of import duties on vehicles imported by re-migrants but used by the Kaieteur News’ publisher and his wife. These claims have been challenged by Lall.
“These unlawful transactions were clear indicators and drivers for a preliminary investigation as to whether a comprehensive audit of the company or Lall was necessary,” the GRA said. “Unfortunately, Lall and the Kaieteur News were able to surreptitiously obtain this information by deceit, corruption and for illegal means and have attempted to manipulate this information to stultify efforts by the GRA to conduct the comprehensive audit of the company by creating false emails purportedly suggesting a conspiracy to destroy the newspaper,” it added.
The GRA added that subsequent to the “unlawful disclosures” of information, it has since taken numerous steps to buttress the IT Security Infrastructure, internal access to, and transmission of sensitive taxpayer information, in addition to launching an intensive investigation into the source of these leaks and other illegal and illicit activities.
However, it admitted that to date, despite its best efforts, it has been unable to identify the source of “these illegal disclosures and unlawful transmission of sensitive taxpayer information” as well as personal information on Sattaur and other internal workings of the GRA.
The GRA also revealed that while investigations are ongoing into the illegal release of GRA’s information, there have been several additional attempts to attack IT infrastructure.
It said on Tuesday September 30, 2014 at 7:20pm, it was notified by the site administrator of Google mail that there were unusual attempts to access the GRA Public Relations Account, grapublicrelations@gmail.com.
“According to Google, two attempts were made originating out of Bridgetown, Barbados and another in Georgetown, Guyana. These attempts were unsuccessful since the person or persons seeking access the account could not verify the requisite information,” it said.
GRA noted that increased security measures and infrastructure thwarted these unlawful attempts. Nonetheless, it said Sattaur was requesting that the police force launch a thorough investigation into the breaches, illegal disclosures and attempts to attack GRA’s IT infrastructure.
“The GRA wishes to assure the public that in light of those breaches, significant efforts have been made to bolster information security and to prevent any further occurrences,” Sattaur was quoted as saying.
