On November 15th, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) charged two former employees of the Ministry of Health’s Materials Management Unit (MMU) Bond at Diamond, East Bank Demerara with money laundering. The charges are connected to a probe that found that $343.8m in drugs and COVID-19 testing kits were unaccounted for. The police said that SOCU is currently pursuing forfeiture of the duo’s properties.
The two persons charged are: Terrence Williams, a 26-year-old miner of Lot 123 Farm, East Bank Demerara, and Kerron Webster, a 29-year-old Lot 344 Middle Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown.
Webster appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court #5 before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty where he was not required to plead to the indictable charge. The charge accused him of contravening the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act. He was granted bail in the sum of $100,000 and the matter was adjourned to 6th December 2024 for report. This bail figure appears inordinately low.
Williams, who was charged with two counts of money laundering, did not appear in court. His matters were postponed to the 22nd November 2024 and 9th December 2024 respectively for charges to be read to him. He is currently incarcerated at the Lusignan Prison serving a three-year sentence for possession of a firearm and ammunition which the police said has a direct connection to the money laundering cases he is now facing.
SOCU said that information surfaced that Williams and Webster, while employees of the Ministry of Health’s MMU bond stole a quantity of pharmaceutical and Covid-19 testing kits from the facility.
As a result, the matter was reported to the Golden Grove Police Station and the police contacted the duo at the said location and conducted a search. During the search, they found a .38 pistol, several matching rounds of ammunition, along with $4,580,000 in Guyana currency and $5,760 in US currency.
Williams and Webster were arrested and Williams was subsequently charged with the offence of possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The police statement said that SOCU conducted a parallel money laundering investigation and a special audit was done at the drug bond. It was revealed that some $343.8m in Guyana currency in drugs and testing kits were unaccounted for.
According to SOCU, the duo had unrestricted access to the pharmaceutical and testing kits from the bond. They allegedly misused their authority and stole a quantity of the items which they sold and used the proceeds of the crime to enrich themselves.
The Ministry of Health has never issued a public statement on the potential losses from the MMU and what steps it might have taken since to protect the bond.
The figure of $343.8m being unaccounted for is mind-boggling and if it is anywhere close to that it would speak to gross laxity in the management of the MMU and a serious breach of security.
It doesn’t require a 5.30 am meeting but the ministry and its Permanent Secretary must now speak loudly and clearly. What exactly has been lost from the MMU and importantly, over what period did this occur? The government is wont to blame its predecessor for everything so it would be no surprise if it attempts to wash its hands of this theft by saying it inherited the problem. Government officials are also inclined to claim that matters are sub judice to avoid being accountable to the public. That would not be a tenable excuse here.
Why didn’t the ministry or the MMU detect these thefts? Were there security cameras at the bond? It appeared as if the police were tipped off. Were there any recoveries of items taken and was there insurance coverage for this theft? Following the discovery of the losses and unaccounted for items what steps have since been taken by the Ministry of Health to better protect the bond from these breaches? Did the Head of the MMU at the time of the breaches give an accounting for their stewardship of this facility and was this person removed? Were personnel changes made in the aftermath of the discovery?
The 2023 Auditor General’s report which was tabled in Parliament earlier this year also addressed the matter.
It said that during a security check at the MMU, a staff member was found in possession of five boxes of Lidocaine.
“In August 2022, the Permanent Secretary requested a special audit to be conducted at the Unit. The audit was conducted by the Audit Office and an interim report dated 16 September 2022 was issued to the Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). At the time of this report, the special investigation was ongoing”, the report said.
The Ministry’s response to the audit office was that it was cooperating with this investigation. The Audit Office recommended that on conclusion of the investigation, the Ministry provides the Audit Office with an update. The Ministry must now update the Audit Office on the latest developments.
Where there are poorly designed and lax systems in government they will inflict enormous losses on the public purse. The huge amounts of oil money pouring into this country require greater safeguards of public funds.
