Dear Editor,
Rumour has it that besides the three known cases, visas of certain Ministers and ranking officials of, and businesspersons (and spouses and children) affiliated with the administration have been cancelled by USA. It has to do with corruption which is pervasive and money laundering. Uncle Sam known the culprits. Several businesspersons, Ministers and other government functionaries are on a watch list with impending visa cancellation.
Thank you, Uncle Sam, for taking this strong action against corruption! When visas were cancelled during the last PPP administration, Freddie Kissoon went after the Ministers and other senior functionaries. Why is he quiet now? Whose visas were cancelled? Why? It is recalled that a ranking Minister in the last term of PPP government was pulled.
We all know why – he was selling licenses and visas. Now it is over corruption and money laundering. Ministers are fearful of passing through or visiting USA. They skip USA even if their journey is much longer to destination. If they have to go Middle East or China, they don’t go through Miami or New York. They opt for London and Amsterdam. And they stop going to Russia because they know they are being watched.
When the USA cancels visas for corruption and money laundering and confiscate assets, shouldn’t the value of the stationary or fixed assets be returned to Guyana? Buildings belonging to a former Minister involved in gold smuggling had his assets confiscated in Florida and New York. And recently, assets were seized in Manhattan from another individual.
Isn’t it prudent for our government to request from USA government to return value of the confiscated assets to the national treasury? After all, money being laundered in America (and elsewhere like the Middle East, China, Maldives, Russia, Mauritius) is stolen from the national treasury through fraudulent contracting and gold smuggling. Payments were made to contractors for bogus or no show work and the loot re-routed back to functionaries in kickback schemes. I appeal to the USA Embassy to cancel visas of other business person involved in kickback schemes.
A certain high functionary and son were sanctioned by US; the son was laundering tens of millions of American dollars in USA that was obtained fraudulently. Shouldn’t the funds be returned to our treasury since they came from contracting? In one Ministry, eight companies (with incestuous relationship, attached to one individual although under different names) affiliated with a senior functionary are drawing some 50% of the Ministry’s allocations for bogus or fraudulent or non-existent work.
That functionary has had a history of corruption while serving at a regional level. He was promoted to the national level. Does anyone think he would have changed? That extent of corruption of 50% is happening in only one Ministry. Imagine what is happening in other Ministries! Why hasn’t the VP taken action on corruption? Thank you, USA, for seizing ill-gotten assets! Would the VP demand that confiscated assets be returned into our national treasury?
Yours truly,
Nigel Pilgrim