The Guyana Police Force is seeking assistance from the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to locate former Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Deputy Chief Executive Officer Aeshwar Deonarine who is wanted in relation to an alleged theft committed at the organisation.
This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum.
Deonarine failed to appear in court last Tuesday when his former colleague, Carvil Duncan, President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) was charged with stealing almost $1 million and conspiring to steal over $27 million from the GPL.
As a result, an arrest warrant was issued for Deonarine by the court. During the proceedings, it was alleged that Deonarine left Guyana on August 3, 2015 for Canada.
Duncan, 73, of 1977 Williamstaad Street, Festival City, Georgetown, was charged with stealing $984,900, which was the property of GPL on March 31, 2015, at Georgetown.
He was also charged with conspiring with Deonarine to steal $984,900 from GPL on the same day, and conspiring with Deonarine to steal the sum of $27,757,500, also property of GPL Inc, between May 7 and May 8, 2015.
He was not required to plead to the charges, which were indictable, and was placed on $1 million bail.
The charges stem from payments that were made by Deonarine and Duncan to themselves and which were uncovered by a forensic audit that was commissioned after the APNU+AFC government entered office last year. The money allegedly stolen by Duncan represents retroactive payments for his time on the GPL Board.
Duncan had told Stabroek News that he was paid fees owed to him for some six years since the company had not paid its board members, who were forced to use their own money for transportation and other expenses.
Although Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson said last year that the GPL board had made no decision on paying increases to members, Duncan said his payment was approved by way of a Cabinet circular which sets out board fees. However, he also said later that he had written to Deonarine indicating that he was prepared to return the money if it was not authorised after it was “hinted” that the money should not have been paid to him. He was the only director who received the retroactive payment.
In relation to Deonarine, the money allegedly stolen represents a retroactive salary hike from the period January, 2013 to June, 2015, that he transferred to himself and which Patterson said had not been approved by the board.
He allegedly transferred the sum with the help of Duncan, who was one of the signatories to the company’s bank accounts.
