So, if established, the state’s case is that Ian Jacobis, 44, of Lot 749 Plantation Best, West Coast Demerara; Shameena Ahamad, 52, of Lot 38 Roraima Scheme, West Bank Demerara; and Ashiana Salamalay, 34, of Lot 38 Roraima Scheme, West Bank Demerara attempted to export gold without a licence in contravention of Sections 8 and 23 of the Guyana Gold Board Act.
Section Eight says straightforwardly “No person shall sell any gold to, or purchase any gold from, any person other than the Board or any agent authorized by the Board or export any gold”.
Section 23 deals with offences and penalties and says that transgressors are liable on summary conviction to a fine of $75,000 or to a fine of $75,000 and to imprisonment for five years on the second or any subsequent conviction.
Further, under Section 24 the Minister may in any case he deems proper accept in substitution for court proceedings on behalf of the Board “a sum of money by way of compensation from any person reasonably suspected of a contravention” of the Act.
So, one can clearly see that this case could possibly end up with very little impact notwithstanding any other charges that might be brought by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) or others.
As an aside, this case pertained to the alleged intended export of 240 ounces of gold but yet bail was set at only $600,000 each.
The real value of this case is that the authorities have been gifted a golden opportunity to learn more about the smuggling of gold from this country which based on anecdotal and other evidence is substantial and has robbed and continues to rob the treasury and the people of this country.
Great fame has come to the PPP/C from talking sternly about the smuggling of gold but failing to really do anything about it or turning a blind eye. Monday’s interception of the above-mentioned trio might have more to do with the internal dynamics of the trade than any awareness of what was happening. One can bet that this was not the first time that such an exercise had been undertaken.
Under the instructions of the government, the police have been known to prematurely terminate investigations without arriving at the gravamen. One hopes that this will not be the case here and that the police show diligence and tenacity in their investigation to enable the successful prosecution of the matter.
In the past, metallic evidence in the possession of the police has been known to undergo alchemical changes which would jeopardise this case. One would hope that the relevant assaying of the silver and gold will be done to international standards for presentation to the court.
It is clear that any smuggling of gold in this format had to have been well-organised and financed. The police must work their way back to the source of this plotting for the smuggling of gold. There must have been a well-paid goldsmith – er, silversmith – engaged in this transaction. The jeweller had to know that he/she was aiding and abetting the commission of a crime. This was no elegant parure in the making. This was a case of silver-plating crude chain-link type necklaces and bracelets. The jeweller would have clearly recognized that gold was being costumed to defraud the state. That jeweller should ultimately lead to the planners.
From all available reports, the trio in question has travelled fairly regularly overseas. The Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation should be in possession of video footage from previous airport trips by the three. Such footage should be carefully examined to determine whether there was any evidence of similar transporting and whether other conspirators and planners were in evidence.
In January of this year, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC noted that gold smuggling was one of the highest money laundering threats in Guyana flagged by the second Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment in 2022.
The National Risk Assessment (NRA) noted that in 2016 it was reported that 15,000 ounces of gold was smuggled out of Guyana weekly, while in 2017, a major gold smuggling racket was unearthed through the US Federal Bureau of Investigation which provided Guyana’s authorities with a list of persons who had taken gold to the JFK Airport, New York, and declared it there.
Yet, there has not been any evidence of commensurate and concerted steps by the government to interdict the illegal trade. Under the PPP/C administration in 2012, 476 pounds of gold, believed to have originated from Guyana, was stolen from a Guyanese fishing boat Summer Bliss, which was docked in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.
Based on the information this newspaper received then, the vessel was on its way to Miami but made a stop in Curaçao. The gold was valued at approximately US$11.5 million. Not a thing came of this case from the Guyana perspective.
In September of 2022, several men were charged jointly with stealing 1,000 ounces of raw gold from Bibi Acklema Goberdhan.
According to the police, Satrohan Seegobin and his father, contractor Bhaloonauth Seegobin found the gold while conducting repairs on the home of Ms Goberdhan, who they only identified as a businesswoman who had been a gold dealer for a number of years. No charge was brought against her for hoarding gold even though she was in clear contravention of the law.
So the ball is now again in the court of the police, the GRA and other law enforcement agencies. Will an opening to really crack down on gold smuggling go abegging? Again?
