“Ponzi scheme” operators now being probed for money laundering

…bank account opened for refund to investors, but no money deposited

As investigations continue into the operations of a massive “Ponzi scheme” in Guyana that swindled millions of dollars out of thousands of Guyanese, authorities are still unable to locate any of the money.

In fact, as the probe widens, investigators are now looking at whether the operators – who are currently before the court on almost 60 fraud charges – are involved in money laundering.
“The investigations are expanding and moving in the direction now of anti-money laundering under the AML/CFT structure. That component of the investigative arm of the State has now been activated,” Attorney General Anil Nandlall announced on Monday.
Yuri Garcia-Dominguez, a naturalised Cuban national, along with his Guyanese wife Ateeka Ishmael, are facing over 50 charges in relation to the unregulated operation conducted under the name Accelerated Capital Firm Incorporated (ACFI).
Through the company, the operators would have collectively received millions of dollars from Guyanese under the guise that the funds would be traded via Forex and that the investors would receive attractive returns of as high as 50 per cent on their investments on a monthly basis.
However, many Guyanese came forward to reveal – through various platforms – that they have not been receiving their returns on investment, and efforts to withdraw their initial investment from the company were proving futile.
When word of this reached the new PPP/C Government, a high-level task force comprising of the Bank of Guyana, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Guyana Securities Council, was established to investigate the matter.
The Attorney General, who heads that task force, explained that the couple would have provided information to authorities on the whereabouts of the monies it collected from investors, but the funds cannot be found.
“The accounts given and the companies that were provided that were supposed to be holding this money in various countries, upon investigations, none of these companies were found to be existing, none of the bank accounts were found to be existing,” Nandlall explained.

No money deposited
Noting that recovering the monies to repay citizens remains the Government’s top priority, Nandlall also pointed out that officials complied with the couple’s request to have a local commercial bank account opened so that they can refund investors.
ACFI, in a statement on August 25, had said the funds necessary to refund the clients are ready to be disbursed; the company said with a bank account, they can transfer funds from its Bitcoin Wallets to repay all investors.
However, even though the account was opened, “not a cent” has been deposited, Nandlall said.
He further explained that the authorities complied with several requests made by the arrested persons in an effort to recover the monies, including providing them with a computer so that they can “bring back the money”.
When this was done, the Cuban national complained that the internet service at the location where he is being detained was poor and as such, he was unable to conduct the transactions.
As a consequence, he was taken to another facility with high-speed internet service, but yet, the monies have not been returned, Nandlall posited.
“He wants the police now, to sign an agreement with him. The police, obviously, have been advised not to sign any such agreement,” the Attorney General stated.
The current charges before the couple alleged that they obtained varying sums of money, under false pretence, from a number of Guyanese citizens.
While they have been granted bail on some of those charges, they have been remanded to prison on the others. The Attorney General informed that the duo has approached the High Court on a number of occasions to secure bail, however, their applications have been refused.
He explained that the Cuban national has no movable or immovable asset in the country and that authorities are of the view that he is a flight risk.
“Clearly, once bail is granted, he will skip the jurisdiction,” Nandlall said, explaining searches have been done by investigators in relation to any asset in which the accused might own in Guyana.
“He doesn’t own a single piece of property, not a motor vehicle, not a movable property, and certainly not any immovable property. And no one can provide any sensible information as to the whereabouts of all this money that he amassed from the people of Guyana and people elsewhere,” Nandlall asserted.
He further contended that “it is clear, beyond a shadow of doubt, that these monies were received as part of a fraudulent, criminal enterprise, and that they have been converted to the recipients’ own use, and no one knows where these monies are and there are no assets that the State can hold on to.” (G11)