Canada extradites former Rice Board Accountant, hauled in by SOCU

The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has been successful in securing the extradition from Canada of former Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) accountant Peter Ramcharran.

His attorney Sase Gunraj told News Room that Ramcharran arrived in Guyana Wednesday morning and was taken directly to the headquarters of SOCU in Georgetown.

Ramcharran is expected to appear at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court to answer charges for the alleged falsification of GRDB accounts from 2011 to 2015.

Gunraj, however, has objected to his client being interrogated at SOCU’s headquarters.

In a letter sent to SOCU, the Defense Attorney argued that Ramcharran is in the “jurisdiction” of the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan given the fact that the extradition was based on the arrest warrant issued.

“He ought not to be subjected to any interrogation and should be placed before a Magistrate as soon as practicable,” Gunraj said in his letter to SOCU.

In June 2017, 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 charged were, Jagnarine Singh, former GRDB General Manager; Prema Roopnarine, former Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture; Ricky Ramraj, agricultural consultant; Badrie Persaud, business consultant; Dharamkumar Seeraj, the General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association and a PPP/C MP; and Nigel Dharamlall, also a PPP/C MP.