Govt wise not to rush charges based on forensic audits – Hunt

By Vahnu Manikchand

In light of mounted calls on Government to take actions based on the findings from the forensic audits conducted at several state agencies, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of the United States Embassy Bryan Hunt posited that while there needs to be pressure on the State, Government is on the right track by not rushing the process.

Speaking exclusively with Guyana Times, the outgoing diplomat explained that Government was wise not to want to see prosecutions that are going to fail.
“They want to make sure that whatever is taken to court by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has the best possible chance to bring those responsible for the crime to justice, which means they want to make sure that they have all the necessary evidence, that they have made sure that SOCU has carried out thorough investigations and can definitively answer the question who is responsible for the problems in the forensic audits,” he remarked.
Hunt went on to say that Government should be careful that they do not only get those who were the final persons to sign the paperwork but also look that those who would have gave instructions to do so.
“Often times, it is important to ask the question who ordered the person to sign the paperwork, who was the ultimate person responsible and we want to make sure that those authors of the criminal activities are also brought to justice,” he stated
According to the US Diplomat, there is nothing wrong with civil society pushing Government to move forward, noting that the international community also wants to see this but at the same time, everyone should want the State to move forward in a systematic way that is going to achieve maximum results, that is, all the questions answered and evidence gathered.
Moreover, Hunt pointed out that criminal prosecutions take time in Guyana. This, he said, is as a result of resources and requirements in the justice system, which includes many safeguards to ensure that those who are innocent are not wrongly convicted.
“So I am not surprised that we are at a point where we don’t have people who are convicted of financial crimes,” he noted.
He further explained that in complex investigations such as fraud or money laundering, which is what most of these cases are, one cannot expect that it is going to be completed instantaneously.
“Certainly, the Government needed time to do the audits, hire professionals to look into it and then to digest the results of the audits they have received – the reports are not short, they are voluminous and it takes time to go through and read them; even more so, when you are trying to develop a prosecution base upon them,” Hunt stated.
The US diplomat noted that while the forensic audits highlights where money should have been and where the holes are, it doesn’t necessarily answers the question of who is responsible for whatever gaps are there and this is where the law enforcement community has to become involved.
“I believe the phase that we are in right now is at a point where we are taking the raw results of the forensic audits done by very qualified accounting firms, providing them to the law enforcement agencies like SOCU (Special Organised Crime Unit) who will now going through those audits and determine what charges, if any, should be brought to bear against those responsible for misuse, misappropriated or misdirected funds,” he stressed.
However, Hunt noted that it might be some time before persons can begin to see solid criminal prosecutions. He reminded that all law enforcement agencies around the world face human and financial constraints, especially in Guyana where they are now embarking on investigating financial crimes.
To this end, he recommitted that the international community stands ready to assist SOCU and other related agencies in carrying out this task. Nevertheless, Hunt is optimistic that these forensic audits will turn into prosecution and those responsible for the misuse, misappropriation of resources will be held accountable.
“I think that is very important especially since we are entering into a phase where Guyana is going to have a significantly increased state resource-based that needs to be managed effectively. People need to understand that there cannot be impunity for financial crimes… people need to have that deterrent effect and I think we are going to get there but it’s going to take time,” the US official noted.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan has disclosed in December last that Government has spent in excess of $133 million on the audits, and President David Granger had stated his Administration is not ignoring these reports but noted that they may not be sufficiently grave to “bring the house down.”
The Head of State noted that these audits would be guides for corrective action to ensure that there is no reoccurrence as well as to ensure that in cases where there is culpability, unlawful behaviour that persons could be brought before the court and if they are found guilty of having committed offences they could be punished.