Carroll, Khan for Court on Sept 8th
West Demerara businessman, Halim Khan, who with the former Economic Affairs Officer at the US Embassy, Thomas Carroll, is implicated in a visa sale scam, is to make another appearance in a Chicago court on September 8. Khan and Carroll are charged with conspiring to commit visa fraud, producing false visas and bribery. They face a maximum of fifteen years in jail if convicted on the bribery charge. Carroll and Khan are both being held without bail since their arrest by federal officials on March 17 this year. Carroll was arrested in Chicago and Khan in Miami. Khan was extradited to Chicago to stand trial. Both have pleaded not guilty. Federal officials in Chicago have declined to comment on the reasons the case is taking so long to be presented nor were they willing to confirm whether the investigations into the activities of the two men were still in progress. The police here are as reticent as their American counterparts but have indicated that the investigations into the activities of the two men in Guyana should be wrapped up in a month or so. Among the objectives of the local investigations is to determine whether any member of the Guyana Police Force was involved with Khan and Carroll. A US Justice Department lawyer, Richard Pilger, informed the court at Carroll's initial hearing that a number of local police officers were implicated. Members of the local investigating team, Stabroek News understands, travelled to the US to confer with federal officials there. Meanwhile, the persons interviewed by the investigating officers here and released on station bail continue to report daily to the police stations. Among them are Khan's wife and a former US embassy employee, Eton Cordis. Cordis has since sued the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police for breach of his fundamental rights. Cordis was detained for two days before being released on $50,000 station bail. During his detention, Cordis was interrogated by US federal officials in the presence of the local police. When he was taken into custody, Cordis' passport and computer system were taken away by the police.
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