SOCU Prosecutor absent; Irfaan Ali case adjourned to Sept. 27

An ongoing fraud case against People’s Progressive Party Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali was on Monday morning adjourned to September 27 as the Prosecutor for the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) failed to show up in court.

Ali is facing 19 counts of fraud for the sale of land in the ‘Pradoville 2’ Housing Scheme during his tenure as Minister of Housing.

The Presidential hopeful sought to challenge the validity of the charges in the High Court but on Friday last, High Court Judge Franklyn Holder declared that Ali does not have a constitutional right not to be charged.

As a result, the case was scheduled to be continued Monday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s court.

Ali was charged for the sale of 19 plots of lands at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara, popularly called “Pradoville 2” between 2010-2015 without obtaining a valuation.