No Minister in the present government has been granted a licence to process, sell or export gold, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman has declared.
He made the declaration in responses to questions asked in the National Assembly by Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali.
Ali had asked Trotman to provide the National Assembly with the number of licences issued for the export of gold in the last three years and for the names and the year the licences were granted.
The answers, which were circulated for the aborted sitting of the National Assembly last Friday, stated that 12 dealerships–Adamantium Metals, Ahmad Trading, Dinar Trading, El Dorado Trading, Excel Miners Inc, GBTI Property Holdings, Gold Bar Development and Consulting Inc., Hope’s Trading, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Osaka Resources Inc., Pure Diamond Inc. and SSS Minerals Trading Enterprise Inc.—have been granted licences to process, sell or export gold within the last three years.
According to the document provided by Trotman to the National Assembly, Adamantium Metals, whose directors are Andron Alphonso and Ronaldo Alphonso, and Dinar Trading were first issued their licences in 2013 and 2012, respectively, and between 2015 and 2018 the licences were renewed each year.
El Dorado Trading and Excel Miners Inc., whose directors are Tamesh Jagmohan, and Albino Lima Tavares and Vanderson De Alancar, respectively, received their initial licences in 1999 and 2003, respectively and were both reissued for the subsequent years inclusive of 2018.
GBTI Property Holdings, whose directors are Robin Stoby, Edward Beharry and Suresh Beharry, was first licensed in 2014, while Mohamed’s Enterprise, whose directors are Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Intiaz, and Pure Diamond Inc., whose director is Sergio Sousa Matos, were both granted their initial licences in 2006. All three also renewed their licences for every subsequent year inclusive of 2018.
Hope’s Trading and Osaka Resources Inc., whose directors are Audrey Hope and Daniel Hope, and Henner Schvienbeck and Adewale Luke, respectively, were issued their licences in 2008 and 2009. However, Hope’s Trading did not apply for a renewal since its initial licence until 2013, when a subsequent application was tendered and it was licensed again with subsequent renewals up until 2015. It did not utilise its licence and as a result it was not renewed in 2016.
However, the document noted that the company has reapplied for a gold dealer’s licence in 2018 and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) is currently conducting enhanced due diligence based on the application that was submitted in August.
With respect to Osaka Resources, the licence was not renewed for 2017 since their directors were asked to submit documents but never did, nor did they pursue the application.
SSS Miners Trading Enterprise Inc. was first issued its licence in 2016 and it was renewed in 2017 but it was subsequently suspended in April that year due to a Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) investigation into the dealership’s business activities. The company’s directors are Saddiqi Rasul and Zinel Rasul. Saddiqi Rasul is before the court for allegedly defrauding the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry of $900 million in a gold-related case.
Gold Bar Development and Consulting Inc., which is headed by Shawn Hopkinson, Morris Hopkinson and Saratu Phillips, is the newest licensed dealer, having been granted a licence this year.
Ahmad Trading, whose director is Jalaludeen Ahmad, was first licensed in 2015 and did not apply for a renewal in any of the subsequent years.
For the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, eleven, nine, eight, and eight licences were granted respectively.
A Natural Resources Ministry statement announcing the responses to Ali’s questions on Friday also noted that the ministry and its agencies, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the GGB, remain committed to providing information to the National Assembly in the interest of transparency and public accountability. It also cautioned against “rumour-mongering and wild hysterics which are irresponsible.”
