Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan has fixed April 3 for the start of the trial of former General Manager of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) Nizam Hassan, who is accused of approving payments for substandard work on the rehabilitation of the company’s Robb Street headquarters.
Former Agriculture Ministry engineer Hanniel Madramootoo is alleged to have conspired with Hassan and others to approve payments to Constantine Engineering and Construction Services, although the works were “incompetently and incorrectly” done.
The charges were laid after a Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) probe of the findings in a forensic audit.
So far, only Hassan and Felicia De Souza-Madramootoo, the wife of the engineer, have been charged. The other co-defendants in the case are Hanniel Madramootoo, his brother Phillip Madramootoo, and his friend Nizam Ramkissoon, both Directors of Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Limited, which is said to be based in Trinidad and Tobago.
During Monday’s hearing before the Chief Magistrate, the court heard that only Hassan and De Souza-Madramootoo would be tried at this time.
Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones, who served the defence team with statements on Monday, told the court that a total of 34 witnesses are expected to be called upon to testify.
The charge against the accused states that Hanniel Madramootoo, who was the Project Engineer within the Ministry of Agriculture, conspired to commit a misdemeanour of procuring money to be paid by false pretence with intent to defraud, together with the others between October 28, 2010 and April 25, 2012. It is alleged that they continuously approved payments to Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Limited for works that were “incompetently and incorrectly” done with inferior materials to rehabilitate the GMC building at Robb and Alexander streets, Bourda, fully knowing that such works should not have been approved for payments.
