The Guyana Bank for Industry and Trade (GBTI) is maintaining that it only releases account information if legally compelled after one of its clients, who is a defendant in a civil case in the High Court, discovered that his bank statements were accessed without his consent or a court order.
Co-owner of Mohammed’s Enterprise Azruddin Mohammed, through his attorney, attempted to submit a nine-page printout of account information for former employee Eon Ferrier but it was disallowed.
Mohammed’s father, Nazar Mohammed, and Ferrier have been named as defendants in an action filed by Davendra Seenarine. Seenarine, a gold trader, is attempting to recover some gold that he reportedly gave to Ferrier.
Sources with knowledge of the case told Stabroek News recently that when the case was called three weeks ago, Nazar Mohammed’s lawyer presented a witness statement of Azruddin Mohammed to the court. Also attached was a printout of Ferrier’s bank account information for the period January 1 to June 30, 2015.
Stabroek News was told that the presiding judge Diana Insanally refused to accept the document and questioned how the account information was accessed.
Stabroek News was shown a copy of the bank statements and each page had a stamp and the purported signature of the manager of GBTI’s Bartica Branch at the bottom.
Ferrier’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, has since written to the bank over the matter and is still to receive a response.
However, when contacted last Friday the bank’s Chief Executive Officer John Tracey told Stabroek News that certain laws “compel us to release information to lawful agencies and we have to comply.” He said that the bank only releases information if the relevant authorities request same through the lawful channels. He did not comment specifically on Ferrier’s case.
Meanwhile, a legal source told Stabroek News that the situation has raised serious questions.
The source said that in order for a bank to release information, a court order has to be presented. It was made clear that a person, whether police or civilian, cannot just turn up at the bank and request the bank account information of a customer.
When it was explained that the two defendants in the civil matter have a criminal matter in the lower court, the source said that this does not justify what has occurred. According to the source, in a case where the police is prosecuting the criminal case, they ought not be provide some of that same information to any party in a civil matter.
However, the lawyer for Nazar Mohammed in the civil matter is the special prosecutor in the criminal case. That prosecutor is not being paid by the state but rather by the virtual complainant, Nazar Mohammed.
The legal source said that while there is nothing in black and white disallowing the use of evidence in a criminal matter in a civil matter, it should not happen. “There is nothing written saying that they can’t do it and it is worse because there is nothing saying they can do it,” the source said.
Asked what recourse Ferrier can use in this present situation, the legal source said that he can file a lawsuit.
Ferrier told Stabroek News that he is very concerned over what has transpired and he questioned how the Mohammeds were able to not only access his account information but also have a printout.
He called the attempt to have the bank statement tendered “barefaced” and opined that sanctions should be imposed on those responsible for obtaining and giving out the information as well as Azruddin Mohammed for having it attached to his witness statement.
The recent publication of bank account information of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency Omar Shariff in the Kaieteur News prompted concerns over confidential information being leaked.
The Guyana Association of Bankers (GAB) publicly registered its concern and dismay at the publication of the bank account information of Shariff, who was sent on leave to facilitate an investigation being conducted by the Special Organised Crime Unit.
In a notice, the GAB said the significant dismay that the situation has caused had compelled it to record its concern given that the publication of bank account information of any person should never occur. “Confidentiality of financial information is the hallmark of bankers’ obligations to its customers,” it noted.
The notice added that while the law compels banking institutions to provide account information to certain agencies, it does not remove the requirement of professional handling, including confidentiality.
“Section 63 of the Financial Institutions Act (as amended by Act No 12 of 2015) compels financial institutions to provide account information to authorised agencies. Those agencies are also bound to maintain confidentiality and only use the information provided for the purpose for which it is garnered and no other,” the GAB said.
