NBS to block former CEO from cashing $59M cheque

…denies unlawful detention allegations
…managers, guards released on station bail

A few hours after issuing a $59.3 million cheque to its former Chief Executive Officer, Maurice Arjoon, the New Building Society (NBS) said it would be taking steps to “safeguard the sum” since it was only issued “to avoid confrontation.”
The Society, in a bid to prevent High Court Marshals from levying its assets, locked customers and staffers in its head office for over five hours. The standoff came as Arjoon’s lawyers secured a levy for $59 million in compensation following his wrongful dismissal in 2011.

NBS issued a three-page statement on Wednesday denying unlawfully detaining customers, Marshals and a Police Officer, claiming that it thought it was being robbed.
The financial institution claimed that subsequently members of the Guyana Police Force informed management that the men were Marshals executing a levy.
However, customers locked in the building reported that they were prevented from leaving by security.
“Assuming that they were correct to levy for the Pension Benefits, this payment ought to have been made from the Pension Scheme Funds and not the NBS assets. The Society will, therefore, seek to redress this illegal and improper conduct of Mr Arjoon’s representatives, his lawyers and the Marshals,” the Society noted.
NBS’s management also outlined that the dismissal of Arjoon and two other senior officers had nothing to do with the Berbice Bridge or the intervention of any Government officials at that time. They added that the Society’s investment in the Berbice Bridge was a very lucrative one and has been proven to be a correct decision. It was maintained that Arjoon and others were seeking to cover up their failure to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the performance of their duties.

The Board of Directors of the Society at that time unanimously agreed to the dismissal of the three officers for serious infractions, including gross misconduct and negligent performance of their duties. The payment of $69 million by these officials in an unauthorised manner and under highly suspicious circumstances caused the Society to suffer a loss by reimbursing the account holder via a court order in the sum of $71 million, the Society noted.

Building a case
Following the illegal detainment of a number of persons, the Police said that they were hoping to interview all the persons who were locked in as they sought to build a criminal case against the Society’s management.
About 16:45h on Tuesday, a number of NBS staff was allowed to leave the building. Though they all refused to comment, two workmen who were locked in the building related to media operatives that they were prevented from leaving.
“The guard man locked the door. When we told him we wanted to (urinate), he said to (urinate) right in there,” one of the workers related.
“All the customers and so talking to them and they ain’t want move. They ain’t want open the door,” the other said.
After Police gained entry into the building, they arrested several managers and security personnel for false imprisonment. They were later released on station bail as the investigations continue.

Inaccurate representation
Arjoon’s Attorney, Sanjeev Datadin, in a telephone interview with Guyana Times said that the Society’s statement was “utterly preposterous” and did not accurately represent the events of Tuesday afternoon. He clarified that the Marshals arrived with a single Police Officer and presented the court order to the Inquiries Officer and were told to await the arrival of the Operations Manager.
He noted that this was complied with but after the lockdown, armed ranks arrived on scene.
“They were fully aware that there were court marshals who were wearing ID badges and fully aware of the court orders; they had the court order, it was handed to the staff – the staff went upstairs with the court order. They wanted to resist the levy and they locked the doors, which, by the way, is unlawful. Interfering with a marshal in the course of a levy is a criminal offence,” Datadin noted.
He further stated that his client would have already deposited the cheque and if the Society made any move to revoke that cheque, then it would be contempt of court.
“I would love to see what steps they want to do to secure the money. There is a court order that say they must pay Mr Arjoon, and if they’re not going to pay the man, then surely they are all happily ready to answer the contempt charges,” he reiterated.
“Their lawyers wanted to give a cheque for $10 million and then we’re going to talk about the rest because they supposedly can’t write a cheque for the amount, a company that made billions in profit can’t write a cheque for that amount….,” Datadin added.
He noted that the story of being afraid of being robbed was “entirely a concoction of convenience”.

The case
The former CEO took NBS to court for his outstanding pension and other benefits in 2011. Arjoon had originally sued the lending agency for some $550 million in damages.
High Court Judge, Justice Brassington Reynolds subsequently ruled in the dismissed CEO’s favour, awarding him more than $79 million in outstanding payments and benefits. The court also ruled that he should be paid a monthly pension of $372,498.
The Judge further ordered that the former CEO should receive financial compensation for the damages he had suffered; and moreover, that he was entitled to his pension and severance benefits, in accordance with provisions stipulated in the laws of Guyana. (Lakhram Bhagirat)