The court is expected to rule tomorrow on whether to recall a witness in the matter against former Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) accountant Peter Ramcharran for alleged falsification of an account. Ramcharran, who was extradited from Canada to face multiple fraud charges, is currently on trial before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for five charges of falsification of an account. The charges allege that Ramcharran, while being the accountant of GRDB, omitted to enter a total in excess of $414 million in the GRDB ledger.
During Friday’s court hearing, Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor Patrice Henry made submissions for recalling the Human Resources personnel at the GRDB to give evidence as it relates to leave that Ramcharran would have taken.
This was objected to by the defendant’s attorney, who said, among other things, that the recalling of the witness was irrelevant.
Having heard from both sides, the magistrate said that a ruling would be made during the next court hearing.
The prosecutor noted that there is one final witness to testify in the matter. The chief magistrate later adjourned the matter until tomorrow.
Apart from the falsification of an account charges, Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus will be dealing with the 17 charges of keeping fraudulent accounts against Ramcharran. His trial on those charges will commence on October 22nd.
