Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, will send out notices for the case involving Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall’s challenge to Government’s decision to deposit the US$18 million signing bonus received from ExxonMobil into a private account.
Another in-Chamber hearing was held by Justice George on Wednesday at the High Court. It was disclosed that both sides have made all submissions to the court. Guyana Times was told that both the applicant, Anil Nandlall, and the respondent, Attorney General Basil Williams, will return to court on June 25 for report. It is expected that after this preliminary hearing, Justice George will send
Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall
out notice for a date for clarification or decision.
Nandlall, in his legal challenge, has said the deposit of the signing bonus into a private back account is contrary to, and in violation of, the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).
He has argued that Government is in breach of Section 38 of the FMAA, which provides that all sums of public money raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Consolidated Fund.
Nandlall has also said that, in accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution and Section 38 of the FMAA, the US$18 million bonus and such other sums collected by the Government under the Petroleum Agreement with ExxonMobil are public moneys, and must therefore be paid into and form one Consolidated F
Acting Chief Justice Roxane Georg
und.
Nandlall’s legal challenge follows a lawsuit filed in January by Attorney Christopher
Ram on behalf of anti-corruption activist Dr Troy Thomas. Thomas has also asked the High Court to order Minister Jordan to immediately deposit the US$18 million — received from the oil company as a signing bonus — into the Consolidated Fund, saying that Jordan’s failure to so do is unlawful. When that matter was called, however, the challenge had to be retracted after Chief Justice Roxane George ruled that the litigation’s format was flawed. The bonus in question was paid to Government by US oil giant ExxonMobil in 2016. The existence of this bonus and the renegotiated oil agreement with the company was kept a secret until evidence of the transaction was leaked to the
Attorney General Basil Williams
media in December 2017. The correspondence of September 20, 2016 was addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana, with the subject being, “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”.
Meanwhile, it is unclear how the ruling would affect a change of policy, since Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced last April that the US$18 million had been invested in US treasury bills and Canadian bonds, where the money is reportedly accumulating interest.
