Dear Editor,
GHK Lall’s reply to my request for a name in simple transparent English took an interesting turn when he replied suggesting that I was on a fishing expedition because “this fine citizen, with his reach, still needs to know about who is who, and who does what, when he already knows.” I understand perspective is shaped by an individual’s experiences and attitude, hence the truism ‘a liar never believes anyone else’ so let me be unequivocal in stating my letters are based upon research, not friendships or gossip; facts and figures gleaned from respected published sources, distilled into the plainest language for the widest possible readership. I leave no room for gossip and certainly do not ‘fish’ for anything but the truth; no games, no masked agendas.
The question asked of GHK was based on his assertion “Following on the heels of proceedings against a mid-level presence in the murky gold world, which made sensational headlines, the result was a suspension of all gold shipments from Guyana, within weeks of my arrival at the GGB”, (31.07.23) his reply, “Ow, Mr. Singh, there has only been a single instance of any such matter developing in this country, and that was even before my arrival” (2.07.23) left me no nearer to a name. Research however shows that during the period when GHK was at GGB, Saddiq ‘Bobby’ Rasul, a licensed gold dealer was charged with six counts of obtaining money by false pretence after he was fingered in a $956M fraud at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), money used for large gold purchases, however, no mention is made of a suspension of gold shipments from Guyana. I will not repeat my question to the transparency advocate who seemingly fears sentences in plain, unvarnished language.
To unravel gold smuggling, we have to understand that each licensed exporter acts as a revenue collection agent for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); 8.5% of the purchase price is collected from the seller by a trader agent (attached to an exporter), ostensibly for onward remittance to the GRA. When gold is bought but not declared, it is not only the government that is robbed of revenue, but the seller who also has paid taxes that have been pocketed by the unscrupulous dealer; the smaller the declaration the more revenue stolen. Gold declarations peaked at 712,000 ounces in 2017 and declined thereafter (under GHK’s tenure), it is this decline that must have set alarm bells ringing at GGB and certainly should have triggered a vigorous response; alas, it did not.
In response to my urging for names and facts, GHK offered “When the real heavy hitters in the smuggling rackets are considered, the numbers trickle down to close to single digits… No identification should be necessary. He himself had an issue with a major felony, now a cold case…” In this GHK identifies my well-documented umbrage that the allegations by Sergeant Bascom of the GPF that there was a cover-up of the alleged involvement of Azruddin Mohammed in the Fagundes murder were not treated seriously nor systematically. A look at the most recent gold declaration figures (2020/21/22) showed there are indeed two major licensed gold dealers in Guyana, El Dorado Trading (242,854/221,800/171,421 for a total of 636,075 ounces) and Mohamed’s Enterprise (119,357/92,035/107,399 for a total of 318,791ounces); the figures are instructive.
Editor, taking a pen in hand to write for public consumption is no task for the lazy or fearful, time spent in research and fact-finding for dissemination to the public in furtherance of a better Guyana is never wasted, fishing expeditions are for those whose writing mask other agendas, I prefer the style of Kafka who mused “I was ashamed, life was a costume party and I attended with my real face” the difference being, that I cannot imagine doing this any other way.
Sincerely,
Robin Singh
