No witness statements have been served as yet to the defence in relation to the 19 conspiracy to defraud charges that have been filed against former PPP/C Minister of Housing Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The charges against Ali stem from the sale of land in the Pradoville 2 Housing Scheme, on the East Coast of Demerara, which was allegedly sold far below its value.
The charges, which detail offences alleged to have occurred between the period of September, 2010 to March, 2015, involve housing allocations to six Cabinet members—then president Bharrat Jagdeo, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon and ministers Priya Manickchand, Dr Jennifer Westford, Robert Persaud and Clement Rohee—along with other persons with connections to the government.
When the matter was called again yesterday before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgteown, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) prosecutor Patrice Henry told the court that one statement in relation to the matters is to be received, after which all the evidence will be served to the defence.
The prosecutor further noted that the matters will be heard indictably, which means that Ali will not be required to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
Additionally, the court heard that two High Court applications have been filed by the defence and one, for a stay in the proceedings before the magistrate’s court, is to be heard on Friday.
The next hearing was subsequently fixed for February 6th.
The charges against Ali are the culmination of a long-term investigation into the housing scheme, which was developed under the former Jagdeo administration.
A special investigation of the housing development, which was part of a larger probe of the financial operations of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), was conducted by accounting firm Ram & McRae.
The investigation stated that the allocation of the land was a clandestine arrangement that was handled personally by Ali and it was concluded that a criminal case for misfeasance could be made against the PPP/C Cabinet members who benefitted.
The probe found that the awardees grossly underpaid for the lots by a total of nearly $250 million, while the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited, National Communications Network, and Guyana Power and Light Inc were never reimbursed for millions spent to execute preparatory works. The findings of the investigation were later referred to SOCU for a criminal probe to be launched.
