MP files legal action for transfer into Consolidated Fund

US$18M oil bonus
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Nandlall has filed a legal challenge seeking to have Government transfer the ExxonMobil US$18 million signing bonus into the Consolidated Fund.
Nandlall in his legal challenge 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).

In his application, the MP is also seeking, among other things, an order from the court directing that Finance Minister Winston Jordan transfer and deposit the bonus into the Consolidated Fund forthwith.
He argued that Government is in breach of Section 38 of the FMAA, which provides that all public moneys raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Fund.
In accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution and Section 38 of the FMAA, Nandlall said 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 fund.
This legal challenge follows a lawsuit that was filed in January by Attorney Christopher Ram, on behalf of anti-corruption activist Troy Thomas who also asked the High Court to order Minister Jordan to immediately deposit the US$18 million received from ExxonMobil as a signing bonus into the Consolidated Fund, while saying his failure to do so is unlawful.
When the matter was called, however, the challenge had to be retracted after Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled that the litigation’s format was flawed. It now has to be refiled and served on all parties before the court can proceed. The legal team, headed by Ram, is currently in the process of reframing the documents and plans to file a new application soon.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has repeatedly debunked the Government’s excuse for holding the funds outside of the Consolidated Fund.
Government has said that the money was kept in a private account to pay legal fees for Guyana should it have to take its border case with Venezuela to the International Court of Justice.
Jagdeo is contending that the Government’s intention was always to hide the money, but they were caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar.
The bonus in question was paid to the Government’s Central Bank account 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 in December 2017.
The correspondence of September 20, 2016, which was leaked to the media was addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana with the subject being, “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”.
It showed Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Hector Butts, requesting that a foreign currency account be opened at the Bank in order to receive a deposit in the form of a ‘signing bonus’ to be given by the oil company.
The letter stated, “This account should not be treated as part of the Bank’s reserves. Instead, the proceeds should be held in the currency of the deposit, that is, United States dollars, and invested in secured interest-bearing securities.”
After mounting criticism, President David Granger defended the transaction by saying it was the thing to do at the time. He also noted that the money was placed in an escrow account, though observers have disputed this.
After the fact, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman also defended the secrecy by saying the money would be used to defend Guyana’s sovereignty in the legal process.
At present, Guyana is awaiting a ruling from the United Nations Secretary General on whether or not the country would have to proceed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the meantime, however, this sum of money remains outside of the Consolidated Fund.
The proceedings by Nandlall were filed on Monday, and a hearing on his application is fixed before the Chief Justice on March 13.