Hanneil Madramootoo, an engineer, was on Wednesday slapped with a fraud charge for substandard work done on the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) building located on Robb Street, Georgetown.
Engineer, Hanneil Madramootoo
Thirty-five-year-old Madramootoo of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, who has been out of the jurisdiction in Trinidad since the charge was brought against him, was arrested when he returned to Guyana earlier on Wednesday. He appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Leron Daly and denied the charge.
The charge alleged that between October 28, 2010 and April 25, 2012, Madramootoo conspired with Phillip Madramootoo and Nizam Ramkissoon to continuously approve payments, which were made to the contractor of the engineering firm for works that were incompetently and incorrectly done with inferior materials to rehabilitate the GMC building at Robb and Alexander Streets, Bourda, Georgetown, while knowing that such works should not have been approved.
Attorney for the engineer, Glenn Hanoman made a bail application for his client, noting that he was not hiding from the Police but was however studying in Trinidad and Tobago.
He requested that Madramootoo be granted bail, explaining that the charge against him is civil in nature. However, Police Prosecutor Richard Harris noted that efforts were made for Madramootoo and his co-accused, Phillip Madramootoo and his friend Nizam Ramkissoon to be deported to Guyana to face the charge against him but same proved futile.
Hanoman revealed his client’s willingness to have his travel documents lodged and as such Magistrate Daly granted bail in the sum of $1 million. That sum was later reduced to $500,000. The case will continue on June 29. Arrest warrants were issued for the other two co-accused – Phillip Madramootoo and Nizam Ramkissoon. Previously, the charges were brought against the then GMC managers Nizam Hassan, and Felecia De Souza-Madramootoo but were subsequently dismissed. The Special Organised Crime Unit had launched an investigation into the construction of the building and after it was discovered that there were several engineering faults in the structure.
