The Guyana police Force has issued a wanted bulletin for the former head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (S.O.C.U) Sydney James, whom it says is wanted for questioning in relation to fraud and obtaining money by false pretence.
James, of Lot 28 George Avenue Lamaha Springs, North Ruimveldt, had been sent on administrative leave in July of 2019 and his contract was not renewed.
He was sent on leave in wake of the damning findings of an audit, which had recommended that he be transferred. The audit was initiated due to claims of grave mismanagement, including the spending of SOCU’s operational fund.
James is a former army intelligence officer who was appointed under the PPP/C government in 2014 following the establishment of the unit. During his tenure, the PPP/C had accused the government of interfering in the work of the unit and issuing directives which targeted members of the party.
The police audit uncovered serious irregularities, including the falsification of records. Aside from the transferrals, a fraud investigation of several of the discrepancies was recommended.
It focused on the years 2016 to 2019, during which time over $52 million was collected by SOCU from the Ministry of Public Security for its operational fund. This fund, according to the audit report, a copy of which was seen by this newspaper, was to be used for the payment of SOCU informants, the rental of vehicles for surveillance, the maintenance of the unit’s building, and basic administrative expenses, among other things.
During the period under audit, the auditors found that several identifiable staff members received sums totalling millions of dollars and while it was claimed in most cases that the money was for intelligence gathering, there was no corroborating documentation. Further, the money paid out to the staff was not far off from what was paid out to informants/sources.
In one instance, the examination of payments of more than half a million dollars each to three ranks in one month in 2016 is said to have uncovered receipts that were backdated to make the payouts look legitimate.
According to the report, the auditors were hampered by the absence of receipts and the lack of records for some expenditure.
There was also evidence of unsigned entries in the financial records, while an official has alleged that their signature was forged.
It was also found that some of the listed expenditure was concocted. There are reportedly numerous cases where purchases were recorded but when the auditors checked with vendors, including a number of established businesses, it was discovered that SOCU collected quotations but never made the purchases.
Also highlighted were irregular transactions between SOCU and a number of businesses. The auditors found invoices that were duplicated or tampered with, fraudulent double entries, and false entries.
A sum of $10 million that was reportedly paid to an Alberttown business for car rental services raised red flags as the receipts provided to the auditors were said to be vague, while the owner of the business was described as being uncooperative.
Former British advisor to SOCU Dr. Sam Sittlington had made shocking revelations about the operation of the unit shortly after he was fired by the UK government for registering a local branch of his company here. He said that tensions arose between him and Sydney James after he questioned the spending from the operational fund.
Anyone with information about that may lead to the arrest of Sydney James is asked to contact SOCU on 225-3079, 225-3084 or the nearest police station.
