Months after the Ombudsman ruled that there had been no basis to charge employees from the New Building Society (NBS) following a 2007 scam, former NBS Director Nanda Gopaul maintained that his integrity is still intact.
Gopaul made the assertion while on the stand during the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into Walter Rodney’s death, where he insisted that he had an “unblemished record.” Gopaul at the time was being questioned by attorney Basil Williams, who asked him whether he could still maintain that he served with impartiality in light of the revelations of the Ombudsman’s report in the NBS matter.
In response, Gopaul said, “The Ombudsman’s report is subject to a lawsuit from the NBS against the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman’s clearly said that he did not investigate the NBS nor the president in the complaint that he has… if you were to read the Ombudsman’s report you would find that he made absolutely no pronouncement on NBS or on Dr. Gopaul.”
Further, Gopaul said he served with integrity, decency and impartiality. “I maintain what I have said here; I have an unblemished record in terms of my integrity,” he said.
In 2007, Chief Executive Officer Maurice Arjoon and two managers had been dismissed from NBS over a $69M fraud at the institution. They were subsequently charged with conspiracy to defraud the institution.
Years later, Ombudsman Justice Winston Moore issued a report which said that there had been no basis for the charges against the employees. Since then, Gopaul, who is also the Minister of Labour, has lashed out at the report and questioned the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction in the matter.
Further, Gopaul said the report had been in complete disregard of the sub judice principle as the matter was already the subject of active litigation filed by Arjoon in the High Court.
Gopaul had also rejected charges by Arjoon that his dismissal from the institution was instigated by former President Bharrat Jagdeo over the question of financing for the Berbice Bridge.
