A city court is expected to rule on if the contents of an affidavit in the trial of eight members of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry’s (GBTI) Board of Directors, who are charged with failing to comply with a court order, will be accepted into evidence.
Robin Stoby, SC, who is also Chairman of the Board; Edward Anand Beharry, Chairman of Edward B Beharry and Sons Ltd; Suresh Beharry, Vice-Chairman of Edward B Beharry and Sons Ltd; Richard Isava, an investment banker; Shaleeza Shaw; Carlton James; Basil Mahadeo; and Kathryn Eytle-McLean, are alleged to have failed to comply with an order issued by the acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, for the production of documents for an ongoing criminal investigation.
After several court hearings for the admission of documents (which are now marked exhibits C1 to C21) into evidence through Special Superintendent of Police Sherroni James, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor was on Friday able to proceed with the main trial.
This process, however, was once again delayed after attorneys for the accused objected to the admission of an affidavit which had already been tendered among other documents into evidence.
The tendered and sworn affidavit contains an admission, according to prosecutor Henry, that documents which the bank provided were either lost, destroyed or cannot be located.
Attorneys for the defendants requested that the court embark on a voir dire to determine the admissibility of the affidavit.
Prosecutor Henry, however, objected to this request. According to the prosecutor, there’s a difference between a confession and an admission, hence there’s no need for a voir dire to be conducted, since it was not a statement taken after a caution— an allegation put and taken by law enforcement- it was executed freely and voluntarily. In the statement, the prosecution stated, the defendants would have made an admission of destruction, loss, and of documents being misplaced.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who is presiding over the matter, granted the request of the defendant’s attorneys to proceed to a voir dire.
During the voir dire, the prosecutor called one witness, Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits attached to the law chamber of Senior Counsel Luckhoo, Ramesh Persaud.
Subsequent to his testimony, a no-case submission was made on behalf of the defendants by their attorney.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to November 9, when the court is expected to rule on if it will rely on the contents of the affidavit.
