Three former members of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), who were accused of omitting entries totaling $52 million from the general ledger of one of its bank accounts, yesterday heard that the charge was dismissed.
Former GRDB Manager Jagnarine Singh, former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Prema Roopnarine and PPP/C Member of Parliament Nigel Dharamlall had been charged with omitting or concurring in omitting from the organisation’s general ledger any entries particular to the sum of $52,000,000 in the Republic Bank account for its Agriculture Life Skills programme, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. It was one of several charges instituted against them and others after a forensic audit of the GRDB.
In dismissing the charge, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly declared that Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor Lawrence Harris had failed to establish a case against the three defendants.
Other charges are still pending against them and their co-accused.
The three where charged along with Head of the Rice Producers’ Association Dharamkumar Seeraj, former member of the GRBD Badrie Persaud and consultant Madan Ramraj in May of 2017 with failing to record entries for funds amounting to over $250 million in total in the agency’s general ledger.
