The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) investigation of Ministry of the Presidency Permanent Secretary (PS) Omar Shariff involves a personal business that he operates and has nothing to do with his job, his attorney Sanjeev Datadin said yesterday, while adding that media reports suggesting that his client has billions of dollars are untrue and have put his safety at risk.
Shariff was sent on leave last week to facilitate the SOCU investigation.
“His situation relates to a personal matter relating to the filing of income tax for his personal business and he needs to make himself fully compliant as far as the payment of his taxes is concerned,” Datadin told Stabroek News yesterday.
“As far as I am aware, there is no connection to any real or perceived corruption and missing government monies or any such thing in relation to him,” he added.
He was responding to reports in a section of the media that there may be some link between the new investigation and that of former minister of public service Jennifer Westford, who has been charged with the theft of $600 million from that former ministry. At the time the money was allegedly stolen, Shariff would have been the PS.
The attorney said that his client can’t give a full explanation nor speak about the investigation fully at this time but in the interim is cooperating fully with the Guyana Police Force/SOCU. “Every officer that has asked… he cooperated fully, providing them with information as requested and he is certain that when the whole story is known…which he can speak about when he would no longer be under investigation…it would be clear that there is no connection,” Datadin added.
He questioned the source of suggestions in the media that his client had $10 billion in bank accounts.
“…For media to accuse him of having billions of dollars… is dangerous to his personal safety. People would think he has billions of dollars, when this is just not true,” he said.
Stabroek News was told that Shariff was operating a business for several years and while it involved large sums of money, the profit he made was very small. He is now in hot water because he did not comply with the law and pay over the required taxes to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
A source said Shariff’s business safely explains all funds in his bank accounts and while “it may be higher revenue than people think possible, he can fully explain it.”
The source claimed that Shariff has been engaging the GRA for a while about paying the taxes owed.
It was explained to this newspaper that all public servants have a duty to disclose any second jobs or businesses to their superiors and receive authorisation to engage in such ventures. A source said this is particularly necessary for someone in such a high position as Shariff.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon informed Shariff by way of a letter that he should proceed on his annual leave from July 1.
Because of the nature of the investigation, the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) will play a part in the probe. A source with knowledge of the matter told Stabroek News that at this point Shariff is the sole subject of the investigation. The source said too that information will have to be sought from the bank/s at which Shariff holds accounts.
Not arrested
Based on Datadin’s explanation, Shariff was not arrested but complied with a request to visit SOCU and after being questioned he was released on $200,000 bail.
According to Datadin, once informed that SOCU had a warrant to obtain the “book” for his business, Shariff complied and the officials were able to take possession of it.
“We have indicated to them we are fully cooperative in providing whatever they needed,” the attorney stressed, adding that SOCU had indicated that he was being investigated because the compliance required for his accounts was not in order, “so essentially they are investigating him for it; it has nothing to do with government money.”
Shariff is an executive member of the PPP but managed to keep his job after the change in government following the May, 2015 general elections.
