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…says he performed his duties in compliance with the oath of office
Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has denied the allegations made by Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall that he allegedly vested State lands to several companies without full payment resulting in “millions of dollars of losses to the State.”
On Sunday, Nandlall had announced in a press statement that he will commence civil proceedings against former Finance Minister after being advised to do so by independent lawyers who found that Jordan reportedly engaged in “flagrant illegalities” post no-confidence motion.
In a statement on Monday, Jordan said that the actions of the AG have gone widespread and seem to be designed to tarnish his character. The AG had presented a schedule containing the names of the companies/principals, purchase prices for the lands and the total amount paid for these lands showing that only a fraction of the sums required were paid, but Jordan has denied involvement in illegal activity.
“These allegations (and innuendos) against me are baseless and repugnant. In my view, they are designed to impugn my character, tarnish my image and lower my esteem in the eyes of my family, friends, admirers, well-wishers and the general public. Indeed, the numerous calls, texts and messages on this matter that I received yesterday, convince me of this conclusion. I thank all of those persons who expressed full confidence in me and for their comfort and support. I state categorically that I, Winston Jordan, Former Minister of Finance in the Coalition Government performed my duties in compliance with the oath of office and to the best of my abilities. This I have done in my over 35 years of public service, in various capacities. On the advice of Counsel, I would refrain from delving into matters of an evidentiary and factual basis. This will be done at the appropriate time,” Jordan stated.
The list of eight companies as presented by Nandlall included companies such as BK Marine Inc. (Brian Tiwari); American Marine Services Inc. (Hareshnarine Sugrim); Cardiology Services Inc. (Dr. Mahendra Carpen); Guyana Oil Company Limited (Renatha Exeter, Company CEO); Supergraphics (Eton Cordis); Premier Sales and Services (Danley Major); Navigant Builders Inc. (Danny Sawh) and Caribbean Marketing Enterprise Inc. (Edmon Braithwaite).
In the case of Navigant Builders, American Marine Services and GUYOIL, it showed that lands were vested on June 11, 2020 but no sums have been paid to date. For all others, it showed that a small fraction of the value of the land was paid. Subsequently, it was announced that six of the eight companies have offered to surrender their allotted plots.
The Attorney General stated in the release that independent legal advice was sought and it was advised that Jordan and former Chief Executive Officer (ag) of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Colvin Heath-London – whose employment was recently terminated by the State — “acted recklessly, in bad faith with full knowledge of the flagrant illegalities, which have resulted in millions of dollars of losses to the State.”
Nandlall said that these matters will be passed to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), for their investigations and any consequential actions which may flow therefrom.
