SOCU investigations hindered by some agencies – Harmon

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said that the non-cooperation of some commercial banks and Government officers were hindering the investigative capabilities of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), thus resulting in the sloth of prosecution.
Harmon made the statement while responding to questions about the pace of investigations by SOCU at his post-Cabinet press beefing on Friday. He said that

there were some issues as it related to the valuation of properties, which would ultimately result in prosecution.
Harmon noted that he was also unaware of any issues with SOCU soliciting Special Prosecutors, adding that he would have to investigate further.
In addition, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan said he was aware of the complaints of non-cooperation and disobedience of the laws by a certain commercial bank. He added that the complaint has been passed to Finance Minister Winston Jordan and the Bank of Guyana, which was responsible for the licensing of banks in Guyana.
Ramjattan also said that banks were obligated to produce records once they receive an order from a judge.
The bank in question is the Guyana Bank for Trade and Investment (GBTI), which has reportedly refused to produce financial records to trace approximately US$500 million, which passed through the hands of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).
SOCU, an arm of the Police which deals with financial crimes, had asked the bank for information on the accounts of a number of former officials of the GRDB. Information was also reportedly being sought for details of transfers involving the bank accounts of a prominent rice miller on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) as investigators believe that hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred to the miller.
However, the bank refused, so SOCU went to court to challenge the objection. GBTI’s legal team initially objected to what SOCU was asking for, resulting in back-and-forth submissions. However, in the end, the High Court ordered the bank to provide the requested documents.