Way cleared for extradition request for former GRDB accountant

Last Updated on Tuesday, 6 June 2017, 19:07 by Denis Chabrol

An arrest warrant has been issued for former Accountant at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), kicking in steps for Canada to extradite him to his homeland to answer fraud charges.

Chief Magistrate, Ann Mc Lennan late Monday issued the arrest warrant for Peter Ramcharran after several fraud charges were read in his absence.

He is the latest to have been charged in connection with the alleged falsification of accounts of that semi-autonomous government agency. Ramcharran allegedly committed the five counts of fraud from 2011 to 2015.

Sources said that now the arrest warrant has been issued, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would transmit the information to the Minister of Public Security who would then channel it to Canada through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In May, six former GRDB Board members were charged with failing to record entries in the general ledger for GYD$362 million from 2011 to 2015.

Last month, six former GRDB board members were charged with failing to record entries for funds amounting to over $250 million in total in the agency’s general ledger, from 2011 to 2015.

Those already charged and granted GYD$500,000 bail each are former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jagnarine Singh; President of the Guyana Rice Producers Association and PPP parliamentarian, Dharamkumar Seeraj; former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and PPP parliamentarian, Nigel Dharamlall; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company, Badrie Persaud; Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine and PPP Organiser, Dhanlall Dhanraj.