Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday defended his decision to widen the scope of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to investigate offences outside of financial crimes but signalled that he is open to scaling back its remit if there is overwhelming consensus.
Ramjattan, however, maintained that the unit should remain under infrastructure of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which he said would allow for needed scrutiny.
His statements come in light of recent criticism from the opposition as well as a public indication by Attorney General Basil Williams that the unit might be separated from the GPF in order to restrict its activities to the investigation of financial crimes.
Ramjattan, the leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), in response to questions during a party press conference at its Kitty headquarters yesterday, said that he wants to keep the expert investigators occupied and not have the officers sitting around waiting for money laundering and financing of terrorism crimes to occur.
“I have made an argument [that] we wanted to do essentially what the [Anti-Money Laundering] Act provides for but if, let’s say, there are no FIU [Financial Intelligence Unit] investigations ordered, are we gonna have ten policemen sitting a whole year there doing nothing? They are good, qualified people to deal with fraud, especially white collar crimes. What do we do? Are we not gonna put inside of this thing that they should deal with white collar crimes, fraud and so on?” he argued.
Former Attorney-General Anil Nandlall was the first to raise the issue of the enormous powers that an amendment to the GPF’s Standing Order No. 62 will confer upon the unit. He said that previously he warned the government against expanding the mandate of SOCU but he was ignored.
Ramjattan had said previously that this amendment was necessary to cement the procedures that would govern the unit.
Based on the amendment, which was submitted by Ramjattan to Parliament Office last month, SOCU will be given the responsibility to investigate crimes such as murders, piracy and smuggling, which traditionally fall under the ambit of the police.
Asked about the opposition’s concern about the widened mandate, Ramjattan said that “indeed when the PPP set up SOCU we had a very bad situation. They did not do any standing order. Nothing…When we came into government, the criticism came, yes, we have to do that and, of course, the emergence of the criticism in a very national way came as a result of the Pyle incident.”
He was referring to last December’s bungled surveillance operation that resulted in the deaths of three persons, including army intelligence officer Robert Pyle, who was at the time conducting surveillance work for SOCU.
Pyle had mistakenly pursued opposition MP Charles Ramson’s wife, Alana, and her brother in a high speed car chase, which ended in the horrific crash on Carifesta Avenue. Pyle, his wife Stacy Pyle, and truck driver Linden Eastman died in the accident.
Public interest
Ramjattan told reporters that following the fatal accident he told the police commissioner and police leadership, “let’s have a standing order for SOCU that is consistent with the work that they are supposed to do.” He said that following arguments government came up with the one which currently exists.
He argued that if there is an anti-terrorist or a money transfer case being investigated that leads to murder, he did not want to just pass it onto another unit of the force. “Are we gonna tell the homicide squad take part in the murder investigation…leave these guys out do the anti-terrorism part alone?” he questioned.
Ramjattan said that the whole issue was a confusing and convoluted one. “So, I decided to carry to the National Security Committee that very expanded version and it was supported. But, look, let me tell you again we are going to listen to the voices of the opposition too and if they feel that, okay, if this thing is wrong or even another person in Cabinet feel that it is not the appropriate thing, well fine we are going to narrow it down back… but at least we did well in that we have a standing order for SOCU and how it must do its business,” he stressed.
According to Ramjattan, the main criticism is that its powers to investigate crimes are too wide. He said that if those powers have to be “narrowed back. I can do that.” He said that corrections can be made after the criticisms are heard. “I am willing to do that but we must not just be stuck with the criticisms—‘Oh Ramjattan has gotten it all wrong.’ What they did was never to do one and if they had done, since they had established the thing, we might not have had the Pyle affair but people don’t look at it that way,” he said.
He stressed that the coalition government will act in the public’s interest and if “more and more people think we should narrow it down for good reasons …expect Ramjattan to do that.”
The criminal activities outside of terrorism and money laundering which were outlined in the amendment are: participation in an organised criminal group and racketeering; trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling; sexual exploitation, including the sexual exploitation of children; illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; illicit arms and ammunition trafficking; corruption and bribery; fraud; counterfeiting and piracy of products; environmental crimes; murder; grievous bodily harm; kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage taking; robbery or theft; smuggling; extortion; forgery; piracy; insider trading and market manipulation; tax evasion; and gold smuggling.
Scrutiny
Meanwhile, on the question of Williams’ announcement that government is considering delinking the unit from the police force, Ramjattan said that the AG has a view.
Williams at a recent press conference had said that since SOCU was set up under the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation, it is important that it performs its core functions related to the legislation “and that it is not burdened with other police work,” which would stymie the operations of the organisation and retard progress under the AML/CFT regime.
As a result, he indicated that it may be separated from the GPF.
Ramjattan reiterated that there are going to be disagreements with his position on it being a unit operating under the police force. “I would like it to be in the police force. There must be an institution…I don’t want the police force all over the place, mini police forces all over the place. So it is important to understand my argument,” he said.
He said that if at the level of Cabinet Williams’ arguments “hold through, well fine but at this stage I would like SOCU to come under the police force so it could be scrutinised under the protocols of the police force and not be a one unit kind of scenario acting and doing all kinds of things because when the question is asked of the commissioner …as to what they do and the investigation, they have to give a proper report annually as every unit must do.”
