Indicted by a grand jury, Chief Executive Officer of the Exec Jet Club Khamraj Lall will not only have to forfeit the US$620,588 found stashed away on his jet in Puerto Rico last month if convicted but also all the property connected to the offence, wherever located and in whatever name held.
Lall, who was released on a bond in the amount of US$100,000, is expected be arraigned next Wednesday before US Magistrate Judge Camille L Velez-Rive.
He has signed an “agreement to forfeit property” with US authorities in Puerto Rico. While it is believed that the agreement includes a listing of everything owned by him, access to it is restricted based on an order by the court that was secured by his attorney.
According to the grand jury indictment filed yesterday, which was seen by Stabroek News, Lall is being charged with bulk cash smuggling. It is alleged that with the intent to evade a currency reporting requirement, he knowingly concealed more than US$10,000 in currency and other monetary instruments and transported and transferred and attempted to transport and transfer such currency and monetary instruments from a place in the US, that is, Puerto Rico, to a place outside the US, that is, Guyana, in violation of United States Code 5332(a)(1) and (2).
In addition to the charge of bulk cash smuggling, Lall also faces forfeiture of property not limited to the cash, according to the indictment.
The grand jury indictment says that Lall shall, upon conviction, forfeit to the United States all property, real and personal, involved in the offence, and all property traceable to such property, wherever located, and in whatever name held, which includes but is not limited to the currency found aboard the jet.
In addition, in the event that any property listed in the agreement cannot be located upon exercise of due diligence, has been transferred or sold to or deposited with a third person; has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court, has been substantially diminished in vale, or has been comingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, it is the intent of the United States to seek forfeiture of any other property of Lall up to the value of the listed property.
Searches of Lall’s private aircraft during a refueling stop at the Luis Munoz International Airport, in San Juan, on November 22nd, uncovered US$150,000, wrapped in plastic bags and a blanket under the exit row seat and US$470,000 in a black suitcase inside a compartment next to the engines, which contained several black garbage bags containing bundles of currency.
Lall, authorities said, accepted responsibility and ownership for the money and informed that his co-pilot and his father, who were with him during the refueling stop, had nothing to do with the cash.
Lall, in addition to his private jet service, has been the owner of Kaylee’s Service Station, at Coverden, East Bank Demerara, which he purchased in 2007 as part of his investment plans in Guyana. According to the Exec Jet Club website, he later expanded his venture when he introduced Quin’s Special Events & Services, a limousine service.
