At an unscheduled hearing yesterday, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) prosecutor Sandil Kissoon, made an application before Magistrate Judy Latchman for the tax evasion charges against Publisher of the Kaieteur News Mohan ‘Glenn’ Lall and his wife Bhena Lall and re-migrant couple Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan to be withdrawn.
The prosecutor; in the presence of defence attorney Robin Hunte, reported to the court that a resolution had been reached.
He said that the new position was arrived at to have the charges discontinued based on instructions received from the GRA regarding the subject matter of the cases.
The matter had been originally adjourned to tomorrow.
Magistrate Latchman however said that while the court welcomes the new development, the matter will be called tomorrow, the adjourned date, for the defendants to be physically present.
Kissoon however stated that the Lalls are overseas and would not be at tomorrow’s hearing. He also asked the court to note that in the absence of the Brijnanans, their son was at court yesterday.
He also pointed to defence counsel Hunte’s presence.
After standing the matter down for some time, the presiding magistrate said that after considering the prosecution’s application; and the level of publicity which the matters have attracted, and in the public’s interest, the case will be called and dealt with tomorrow; the date originally set by the court.
At the previous hearing on January 8, the prosecution had revealed to the court that both sides were in talks for an amicable solution to the matters.
It was in these circumstances that tomorrow was then set as the adjourned date for reports on what would then be the way forward in the matters.
The defendants had denied the charges and were all admitted to self-bail after being jointly arraigned.
The Brijnanans were arraigned on a total of four charges, two of which they share with the Lalls.
Of the charges levelled against the Brijnanans, two counts were for “knowingly being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of import duties of Customs” and two counts were for “making false declarations.”
The first two offences were allegedly committed by the Lalls jointly with the Brijnanans and others unknown between June 18, 2013 and September 21, 2013, at Lot 200-201 Camp Street, Georgetown, where they allegedly knowingly concerned, aided and abetted each other in the fraudulent evasion of the import duties of customs due and payable to the Revenue Authority on the two vehicles.
These charges allege that between June 18 and September 21, 2013, the Brijnanans, together with others unknown, at Lot 200-201 Camp Street, Georgetown, knowingly concerned, aided and abetted each other in the fraudulent evasion of import duties of customs due and payable to the revenue authority on the two vehicles.
The second two offences, levelled against the Brijnanans only, state that between June 18 and September 20, 2013, at Lot 200-201 Camp Street, they made a false declaration in a matter relating to customs, by falsely declaring the value of two Lexus LX 570 vehicles to be US$44,158.
In addition to the offence for which they were jointly-charged with the Brijnanans, a further charge against the Lalls alleges that between June 18, 2013, and August 30 of 2014, at 24 Saffon Street, Georgetown, they knowingly dealt with goods, with intent to defraud the revenue of duties on the two vehicles.
The authorities have said that the charges stem from a wider investigation, which was prompted by the sudden appearance of an unusual number of luxury vehicles. However, Glenn Lall has maintained that the charges are an attempt by GRA to persecute him and his newspaper as a result of its exposures of government wrongdoing and corruption.
The Brijnanans became the focus of an investigation after it was reported that the Lalls were using two Lexus vehicles that they imported into the country under the re-migrant scheme. As a result of the duty-free concessions granted to them, they were not required to pay the more than $100 million in duties on the luxury vehicles.
The defendants are represented by Khemraj Ramjattan in association with Hunte and a battery of other lawyers, including Senior Counsel Rex McKay, Nigel Hughes, Joseph Harmon and Christopher Ram. Meanwhile, Kissoon appears in association with attorney Mahendra Satram for the GRA.
