Georgetown: Having been under the radar of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for some time, a three-person family resident at Lot 274 Somerset Court, Herstelling, East Bank Demerara has been slapped with a raft of money laundering charges.
Arrested at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 as they attempted to flee to the United States of America, they are facing 268 counts of money laundering and conspiracy to launder money worth over $4.1B.
This three-person family is comprised of Kenneth Kellawan Ramnarine, a taxi driver; his son Damian Brandon Ramnarine, a salesman; and Kenneth’s reputed wife Yevette Nalini Saroop, a businesswoman.
The father and son are charged jointly, while Saroop, who is alleged to have conspired with them, has been charged separately.
Kenneth Kellawan Ramnarine appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, and has been remanded to prison until March 6, after being read 134 indictable charges to which he was not required to enter a plea.
Damian Brandon Ramnarine did not appear in court with his father and/or stepmother on Wednesday. His lawyer Bernard DaSilva, who is also representing his parents, surrendered him to SOCU’s Camp Street, Georgetown Headquarters on Thursday, February 9. When he appeared in court on Thursday, he was also remanded.
Yevette Nalini Saroop appeared on Wednesday before Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrate Sunil Scare. She is also facing 134 indictable charges, and was similarly not required to plead to any. She has also been remanded to prison.
The joint money-laundering charges against them have been laid under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act. A summary of all the charges read that they knowingly, or having reasonable grounds to believe that the cash in question, whether in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represents proceeds of crime, converted or transferred the cash in question to conceal or disguise the illicit origin, knowing or having reasons to believe that the said cash is the proceeds of crime, SOCU has explained.
According to SOCU Head, Assistant Police Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh, reports reaching the law enforcement agency indicate that the trio had conducted multiple suspicious transactions at several financial institutions in Guyana, raising concerns that they may be involved in money laundering activities.
SOCU said its suspicions were primarily honed on the large number of unsubstantiated cash deposits made via Kenneth’s business accounts of Ken’s Trading Enterprise. The sources of funds, declarations submitted to several commercial banks, show that most of the deposits are attributed to the proceeds of sales from biodegradable food boxes sold to local businesses, in particular Chinese restaurants, SOCU has disclosed.
Karimbaksh revealed that a substantial number of wire transfers, amounting to over $3.7 billion, were sent to 22 companies in China under the pretext of importing raw materials to produce biodegradable products, while other sums, totalling over $4.1B, were disguised locally.
He pointed out that investigators did not find any legitimate source of these funds which the accused had wire-transferred out of Guyana. The actions of the accused suggested that they may be operating as nominees for some Chinese businesses, and were also facilitating tax evasion through Ken’s Trading Enterprise.
Investigators at SOCU, including several senior officers, had contacted several prominent businesses in Georgetown during the investigations, which commenced in August 2020, and
the businesses and persons the accused persons listed on their source of funding declaration forms have vehemently denied doing such large transactions with them. As a result, SOCU noted, it conducted several covert and overt investigations and operations over three years, monitoring the family and their lifestyles until enough evidence was collected beyond a reasonable doubt.
Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act provides for establishment and management of a Financial Intelligence Unit; provides for unlawful proceeds of all serious offences to be identified, traced, frozen, seized, and forfeited; provides for comprehensive powers for the prosecution of money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes; provides for the forfeiture of the proceeds of crime and terrorist property; requires reporting entities to take preventative measures to help combat money laundering and terrorist financing; and provides for civil forfeiture of assets and matters connected therewith.
SOCU is that unit of the Guyana Police Force that is designated with responsibility for ensuring that money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes are fully and thoroughly investigated. (G1)
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