Former Registrar of Deeds was never relieved of duties – Nandlall

…says charges instituted against her were political in nature

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall has once again roasted his predecessor Basil Williams for playing a major role in instituting charges against Registrar of Deeds Azeena Baksh, who was earlier this year convicted of fraud.

Despite being convicted of a criminal offence, Nandlall noted that Baksh, who was appointed Registrar of Deeds in 2012 by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), pursuant to Article 199 (3) of the Constitution, has never had her appointment rescinded or revoked by the Commission.
The tenure of the JSC expired on September 12, 2017. The last Commission was appointed by former President Donald Ramotar on September 11, 2014. The tenure of each appointed member is for three years, therefore, the tenure of the last Commission expired on September 12, 2017.
Among other things, the functions of the JSC is to advise the President on the appointment of Judges, with the exception of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice.
It also has the power to make appointments to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in the following offices – Commissioner of Title, Magistrate, Director of Public Prosecutions, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Registrar of the High Court, Deputy Registrar of the High Court, Registrar of Deeds and Deputy Registrar of Deeds and to such offices connected with the courts or for appointment to which legal qualifications are required as may be prescribed by Parliament.

The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs has no powers to appoint, discipline or dismiss anyone in relation to the office of the Registrar of Deeds, Nandlall made clear in a statement on Sunday. He expressed that it was unfortunate that she was charged and convicted.
He said, “In my humble view, the decision to charge Baksh was a politically-driven one by my predecessor. Baksh was charged for simply receiving her salary from the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority, an Authority established by the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority Act, which authorised the transfer of all staff from the Deeds Registry and converted them into employees of the Authority, inclusive of the Registrar of Deeds.”
“In my respectful view, there is nothing wrong with a person being appointed by one agency and paid by another. If that person received two sets of remuneration, it would have been a different matter. That is not the case. The Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority Act authorises the payment of all staff of the Authority, inclusive of the Registrar of Deeds,” Nandlall added.
According to the Attorney General, at a recent meeting with the Bar Association of Guyana, the issue of Baksh’s resumption to office was raised.
However, Nandlall said that he informed the meeting that her conviction is the subject of an appeal and if that conviction is quashed or set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registry will address the issue of her resumption, since, for all intent and purposes, she remains the Registrar of Deeds, having not been removed by the JSC.

Spared jail time
On March 11, 2020, Baksh was found guilty by Magistrate Leron Daly of fraudulently procuring over $4.5 million while being employed by the JSC between 2014 and 2017. Charges were instituted against her in 2017. Instead of sentencing Baksh to imprisonment, Magistrate Daly ordered that she repay the full sum she fraudulently procured. On the day of her conviction, she was ordered to lodge $1 million and was given three months to repay the balance.
The Magistrate in her ruling held that Baksh is not a threat to society, and as such, there was no need to impose jail time. The charge against her stated that while being employed by the JSC between May 1, 2014, and January 31, 2017, in Georgetown, she caused or procured valuable securities in the sum of $4,534,486 million to be delivered to her Bank of Nova Scotia account for her own use pretending she was a contracted employee at the Deeds Registry.
In April of 2017, the Legal Affairs Ministry had disclosed that the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority had requested an investigation to be launched into financial irregularities into Baksh’s payroll documentation. Upon her appointment as the Deeds Registrar in 2012, Baksh received $326,171 monthly, as well as duty, entertainment and house allowances among many other benefits. This was approved by the JSC.
The Legal Affairs Ministry asserted, however, that Baksh increased her payment to $400,000 in 2014 when the Deeds Registry was merged with the Commercial Registry, without the approval of the JSC. It was further reported that Baksh – being the sole person with authority to sign off on such documents – approved gratuity to herself and several staff members from the period May 2014 to November 2016.