Police say the control register used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not been located although the investigation into the remigrant scam is ongoing.
This register is maintained by the Remigration Officer in that ministry and is also signed by the secretary, acknowledging receipt of documents.
According to the report from the Office of the Auditor-General and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), during the initial investigation the register was not provided for examination. The report said the officer responsible had said the register was lost and as a result, it was not possible to ascertain the authenticity of the approved remigrants' status.
The register would have indicated how many of the 86 applications received were actually approved by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and how many were falsified, according to the GRA's and Auditor-General's Office findings.
Many are of the opinion that were the register to be found, it would be easier to ascertain where the fraud took place and finger those directly responsible.
Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elisabeth Harper told Stabroek News last week that since the matter was in the hands of the Police she could not comment on the missing register. And yesterday acting Auditor-General Balraj Balram told Stabroek News that he could not speak on the issue since he was not authorised to do so.
Out of 86 concessions granted in August 2003, only 31 were found to have been properly approved.