Ex-cop remanded on forgery, fraud charges in $35M bank robbery attempt

A 26-year-old labourer and former police officer from Farm Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was remanded to prison Monday after being charged with forgery and attempting to demand money through fraudulent means.

According to reports, on September 25, 2025, at about 12:15h, Omari James entered the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Limited, Diamond branch, and presented a National Identification card and a Guyana Driver’s Licence in the name of Shameer Ali, both bearing his photograph and a date of birth of August 25, 1989. He also submitted a GBTI withdrawal slip requesting $35 million in the name of Shameer Ali. The teller, suspicious of discrepancies, referred the documents to her supervisor, who found that the date of birth and photograph on the documents did not match the bank’s records for Shameer Ali. James was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of uttering a forged document under Section 245(b) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 08:01; one count under Section 277; and one count of demanding money upon a forged instrument under Section 278(b). James appeared on Monday before Magistrate Wanda Fortune at the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrate’s Court, where the charges were read to him. He pleaded not guilty to all counts. The case has been adjourned to October 31.