Former New GMC General Manager, engineer’s wife walk free from fraud charges

Last Updated on Friday, 20 October 2017, 14:20 by Denis Chabrol

Former General Manager of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC), Nizam Hassan and the wife of a Ministry of Agriculture Engineer were freed of fraud charges because of a lack of evidence.

Chief Magistrate, Ann Mc Lennan on Friday ruled that the case against Hassan and Felicia De Souza-Madramootoo be dismissed because the prosecution failed to provide evidence to support its accusation.

The Guyana Police Force had  in November, 2016 accused Hassan, De Souza-Madramootoo of seeking to be paid by false pretense in relation to the approval of payments for sub-standard rehabilitation of the NGMC building at Robb and Alexander Streets, Georgetown. The building was rehabilitated at a cost of GYD$23.96 million.

A total of 34 witnesses were called by Police Prosecutor, Alwyn Moore.

Hassan, De Souza-Madramootoo, her husband- Ministry of Agriculture Engineer, Hanniel Madramootoo, and Directors of the Trinidad-based Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Limited- Phillip Madramootoo had been charged based on the findings of a forensic audit.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had instituted the charge of conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor of procuring money to be paid by false pretense with intent to defraud between October 28, 2010 and April 25, 2012.

The prosecution had alleged that the defendants had conspired among themselves to continuously approve payments to the contractor of Constantine Engineering and Construction Services for works that had been incompetently and incorrectly done with inferior materials to rehabilitate the NGMC building knowing that such works should not have been approved.