The government could soon secure local assets of Guyanese pilot Khamraj Lall, who is facing several charges in the United States, including drug trafficking, according to Minister of State Joseph Harmon.
Should the government move against Lall’s local assets, which include a gas station and a limousine service, it will be the first time the authorities have gone after assets believed to have been illegally obtained.
While the recently enacted Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism law provides for assets to be seized once money laundering is involved, Minister Harmon told Stabroek News that the Customs Anti-Narcotics legislation also provides for the forfeiture of assets in cases where persons have been charged or convicted for money laundering and drug trafficking.
“I can say to you that these are assets that are here in Guyana and it is the interest of the state to ensure that those assets are secured in the event that we have to take further steps, further actions,” the minister said, when approached on the issue.
He pointed out that Lall has been named as an accessory in the smuggling of drugs.
Apart from cash smuggling, for which he is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty, Lall is also facing drug trafficking charges and is also accused of structuring bank deposits to avoid financial reporting requirements.
His legal troubles began in November last year, when searches of his private aircraft during a refueling stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico uncovered US$620,000 stashed on board. Lall was travelling to Guyana at the time.
His arrest later revealed that Lall flew frequently to Guyana and that he had a private hangar at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CJIA). He had also used his jet to fly former PPP/C President Donald Ramotar to Brazil on an official trip. Following his arrest in Puerto Rico, the then PPP/C government had been strongly criticised for its connections to Lall and over his being given a private hangar.
Stabroek News was told Lall had been given the go ahead to build by Cabinet in 2012 after he had submitted a business proposal that included plans for an air ambulance service, among other things. Then Minister of Transport Robeson Benn had told Stabroek News that all the necessary documentation and permits were granted for the building of the pre-fabricated hangar, which was said to cost near US$1M, at CJIA.
In 2007, Lall purchased a gas station, now known as the Kaylee’ Service Station, at Coverden, East Bank Demerara, as part of his investment plans in Guyana.
He later expanded his venture when he introduced Quin’s Special Events & Services, a limousine service. He acquired a Westwind 1 Aircraft, which was a light executive jet that he operated as an international private service from Guyana to destinations in North America, South America and the Caribbean. At the time, he had billed that service as the first of its kind in Guyana. The aircraft is now a subject of forfeiture by the US authorities.
Before the new government’s publicly expressed intention to go after the assets of Lall, the local Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) never showed any sign of pursuing investigations into the origins of the assets of a large number of people who have been seen to be connected to the drug world and other organised crime activities.
The prime example of this would have been the assets and estate of convicted drug kingpin Roger Khan, who is now serving a 15-year jail term in the US for drug trafficking. At the time that he was held in Suriname in 2006, Khan was known to have had extensive assets here, including an island in the Essequibo River and real estate.
The FIU made no known move to pursue a case here against him even after local laws were bolstered to permit asset forfeiture.
The drug trafficking charge against Lall states that between December, 2013 and February, 2015, he conspired to transport more than five kilogrammes of cocaine from Guyana into the United States. He is accused of transporting the cocaine on his flights from Guyana to the United States. He was arrested in July and has been in custody since.
His third indictment states that with intent to evade a currency reporting requirement, Lall knowingly concealed more than US$10,000 and transported and transferred and attempted to transport and transfer such currency and monetary instruments from Puerto Rico to Guyana, in violation of United States laws.
