Private criminal charges will be executed – Nandlall

… if SOCU attempts to breach High Court order

In spite of the particulars of a High Court order, the Guyana Police Force in a statement, has now said that the search warrant it acquired to search the premise of former Attorney General Anil Nandlall was to recover law books not covered by a High Court conservatory order.
But Nandlall is debunking this, asserting that those are the only law books in his possession that are subject the criminal action. Moreover, he has promised that any attempts to enforce the search warrant will result in private criminal charges being filed.
“I am not sure whether this is an attempt at damage control, or it is an exhibition of manifest incompetence or is an expression of puerile vendetta or it is all combined,” Nandlall stated in response to the Police statement. “The relevant part of the order of the acting Chief Justice reads thus
This court orders that an interim conservatory order be and is hereby granted preventing and restraining officers and or agents of (SOCU) and or the Guyana Police Force from seizing and or detaining 15 Commonwealth Law Reports for the years 2012 to May 2015 in the possession of the applicant.”
Nandlall stressed that as the owner of the books, they were one and the same. The attorney warned that any attempt to execute the warrant would be tantamount to an “aggravated” violation of the high court order, in addition to contempt of court.
“Appropriate private criminal will be instituted against anyone who attempts to execute or executes or aid and abet the execution of any such illegal, unlawful and contemptuous search warrant.”
Calling his charge contrived, the former Attorney General lambasted the Police and SOCU for “the wastage of public monies, scarce resources, time and energies in persecuting me, when the real criminals are wreaking havoc against the citizens of this country.”

In April, Nandlall was arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Fabayo Azore on a charge instituted by SOCU, which detailed that between May 15 and May 29, 2015, while being a bailee (custodian), he had fraudulently converted to his own use and benefit 14 Commonwealth Law Reports, valued at $2.3 million – which he allegedly unlawfully retained after demitting office in 2015.
This is despite both Nandlall and former President Donald Ramotar affirming that the subscription for the law books was paid for as a condition of his service as Attorney General. Nandlall’s ownership of the books was also recognised by the High Court when it granted an order prohibiting SOCU from carrying out searches and seizing the law books.
Nandlall had sought and was granted the conservatory order, which restrains SOCU from taking possession of the law books, the day after he was initially questioned by SOCU. The order was granted by Justice Dawn Gregory. On June 27, word that despite the court order a search warrant had been procured by SOCU from Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan to carry out a search on Nandlall’s residence sent media operatives and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) officials racing to the PPP front bencher’s house. SOCU never showed up.