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May 13, 2021

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The Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI) recently processed $23.8M in fake cheques from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and upon discovering same, GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia categorically stated that it can only be seen as a case of collusion or gross negligence between officers at the bank and the perpetrators.

In a letter to Bank of Guyana Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga, Statia said the Authority obtained three forged copies of cheques that were cashed at a branch of the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry and for which, withdrawals totalling $23.8M were made from the GRA’s Revenue Account. A fourth cheque was intercepted. Statia said a perusal of the cheques revealed several discrepancies which indicate that officers of GBTI failed to exercise due care and diligence by allowing the said cheques to be cashed.

Expounding further, Statia said GRA does not issue refund cheques with electronic signatures. He said any such development would have necessitated notifications to the Bank of Guyana and all Commercial Banks. He explained that all GRA refund cheques or payments to individuals and companies are affixed with the non-negotiable stamp. “The only time when such a stamp is not affixed is when transfers are effected between GRA’s Accounts or to the Consolidated Fund. GRA has always adhered to this well-established policy which is standard for all government agencies,” the Commissioner General stated.

Further to this, Statia said it is apparent to the naked eye that the payee signatures on the said cheques apparently do not match those on their ID cards. Statia said this reflects negligence at best or collusion at worst on the part of GBTI and the supervisory officer. He said the mere fact that fortunately, one of GBTI’s staff found it necessary to call GRA to confirm the issuance of one of the cheques and the amount (which led to the discovery of the crime…thereby showing that a fraud was being committed) shows that the bank has rules and operating procedures in place to minimize or prevent such occurrences, hence the bank’s failure to follow these rules could be interpreted as negligence or collusion with the perpetrators. Lastly, the tax chief said it is interesting that the cheques were only cashed at the GBTI, which is further evidence of collusion.

Until the police force completes its probe, Statia said the liability of the said fraud is that of the bank. He then called on Bank of Guyana to ensure such requests not be accepted from its account.

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Statia is a no nonsense man. If it's collision then the person or persons would be  better off putting the money back before Statia catches them because they will have to both pay the money back and spend a very long vacation in the Queen's crowbar hotel on camp Street.

Prashad

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