Former accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Peter Ramcharran was on Tuesday sentenced to three years imprisonment for falsification of $145M from the entity.
The sentence was imposed by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan who found Ramcharran guilty of one count of falsification of accounts.
The charge stated that between 2011-2015, at Lot 16-17 Cowan Street, Kingston, at the GRDB head office, while being a clerk or servant, Ramcharran omitted to enter some $145 million in the GRDB ledger.
This is the first conviction for the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), which had Special Prosecutor Patrice Henry leading evidence in the case.
Ramcharran was represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Sophia Findlay.
The former Accountant was slapped with 39 charges in March 2019 of which one charge was withdrawn.
He still has 37 charges against him ongoing before the court.
Ramcharran has four more charges of a similar nature for omitting to enter some $269 million in the GRDB ledger. These matters are adjourned to February 28, before the Chief Magistrate.
Additionally, the Chief Magistrate is dealing with 16 other charges against Ramcharran who is accused of colluding with former General Manager of the GRDB, Jagnarine Singh and his deputy, Madanlall Ramraj to omit entries into the entity’s ledger.
The charges alleged that Ramcharran omitted to enter over $4.2 M into the ledger, knowing that it was contrary to standard operating procedures between 2011 and 2012.
Ramcharran also has 17 charges of keeping fraudulent accounts; this is being heard by Magistrate Sherdel Isccas-Marcus.
The charges alleged that Ramcharran fraudulently took $5.1M or converted the money to his own use and benefit, or any use and purpose, other than that of the GRDB between January 11, 2010, and July 17, 2012.
The SOCU managed to extradite Ramcharran from Canada to face the charges in March 2019.
