$8M fraud unearthed at SILWFC
--- suspect believed out of country
by Chamanlall Naipaul
Guyana Chronicle
May 31, 2004
INVESTIGATIONS are ongoing into a massive financial fraud at the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee (SILFC) which occurred late last year.
The misappropriation of over $8M was unearthed by officials of SILWFC and the Office of the Auditor General was called in to investigate the fraud in January of this year.
However, a former accountant at SILWFC who is linked to the misappropriation of funds has left the country and is believed to be working and residing in Saint Lucia.
A source from the Office of the Auditor General in its preliminary findings recommended that the police be brought into the investigations but apparently the individual has not been located as yet.
The source further stated that the investigations into the fraud should have been completed already but have been delayed by the absence of financial records which seemingly have been destroyed or removed by person (s) involved in the misappropriation. The records, including cheque books and receipts, were manually compiled and as such there is no back-up system from which they could be located. The source explained, however, that efforts are being made to get assistance from the commercial banks with which transactions were done to get the necessary evidence to finger the person(s) involved in the fraud.
When the investigations are concluded the $8M figure could extend to well over $10M, the source said.
Asked how the money and financial records could have disappeared in the way they did, the source said it was a case of a lack of proper financial supervision.
The SILWFC was established in the 1950s following the recommendations of the Venn Commission which came here after vigorous agitation and representation by the late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan for improvement in the deplorable living and social conditions in the then wholly British owned sugar industry.
The fund was to be used to improve living and social conditions of sugar workers by providing loans for housing and construction of residential roads and community centres and other recreational facilities and installation of potable water systems.