Government says it will not renew the contract for cash flush pilot Khamraj Lall’s hangar lease at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri and has notified him, resulting in his representatives here moving to the courts.
“The lease expired on October 15th and we wrote [the company] in accordance with the lease advising them that we have no intention of renewing the lease,” Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson informed yesterday at his ministry’s end-of-year press conference.
Lall is facing several charges in the United States, including drug trafficking.
Patterson said the company was notified of government’s intentions and told it was free to remove any of its “movable” possessions from the property.
However, he said, Lall’s company here has moved to the courts to challenge the decision as he feels that he has invested much and wants his lease renewed. Patterson said that government’s head legal officer advised that there was no ground for a renewal because of monies spent, as once the lessee defaulted government was cleared to repossess the property.
“A lease is a lease,” Patterson said, as he explained that government will be speaking with the airport authority to decide on a way forward for the use of the hangar.
He said that while he would not pre-empt what the decision would be in his opinion the hangar can be more aptly used for revenue earnings from cargo as that sector is expanding. “I, for one, don’t see the use of a luxury hangar anymore. There is need for cargo [storage] and things like that,” he stated.
Lall is already facing the forfeiture of US$7.5 million, several properties and aircraft in the US.
Government has already said also that it could soon secure his local assets.
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 of State Joseph Harmon told Stabroek News that the Customs Anti-Narcotic legislation also provides for the forfeiture of assets in cases where persons have been charged or convicted over 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,” Harmon had told Stabroek News, 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 refuelling 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 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 criticized for its connections to Lall and over him 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$1 million, at CJIA.
In 2007, Lall purchased a gas station, now known as the Kaylee’s 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.
