A former employee of the Ministry of Health’s Materials Management Unit (MMU) Bond was on Monday, June 8th, committed to stand trial in the High Court on the charge of money laundering following a probe that found that $343.8m in drugs and COVID-19 testing kits were unaccounted for.
The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in a statement last Friday said Terrence Williams was committed to the High Court by Magistrate Wanda Fortune, sitting at the Diamond Magistrate’s Court, in relation to a charge instituted under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.
Following the committal, Williams was granted bail in the sum of $500,000 and was ordered to report to SOCU once every month pending the hearing and determination of the matter in the High Court
The statement said that the charge alleges that on or about March 21st, 2022, at the Ministry of Health’s Bond, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, Williams acquired, possessed or controlled cash amounting to approximately $7,489,543, together with foreign currency, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the said cash represented, in whole or in part, the proceeds of crime.
The unit said that the matter arose from an investigation into cash allegedly found in Williams’ possession, together with inquiries into his known sources of income and the surrounding circumstances under which the cash was allegedly acquired.
Williams was represented by Attorney-at-Law Eden Corbin. SOCU was represented by Prosecutors Darin Chan, David Braithwaite, and DSP Neville Jeffers.
It was on November 15th 2024 when Williams, who was said to be 26 at the time and listed as a miner of Lot 123 Farm, East Bank Demerara, and another former ministry employee, Kerron Webster, 29 of Lot 344 Middle Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown were charged.
It is unclear if Webster’s charge was dismissed or if he is still before the courts.
At the time SOCU had said that information surfaced that Williams and Webster, while being employees of the Ministry of Health’s MMU bond stole a quantity of pharmaceuticals and COVID-19 testing kits from the facility.
As a result, the matter was reported to the Golden Grove Police Station and the police contacted the duo at the said location and conducted a search. During the search, they found a .38 pistol, several matching rounds of ammunition, along with $4,580,000 in Guyana currency and $5,760 in US currency.
Williams and Webster were arrested and Williams was subsequently charged with the offence of possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The police statement said that SOCU conducted a parallel money laundering investigation and a special audit was done at the drug bond. It was revealed that some $343.8m in drugs and testing kits were unaccounted for.
According to SOCU, the duo had unrestricted access to the pharmaceuticals and testing kits from the bond. They allegedly misused their authority and stole a quantity of the items mentioned above which they sold and used the proceeds of the crime to enrich themselves. SOCU is currently pursuing forfeiture of the duo’s properties.
The Ministry of Health has never issued a public statement on the potential losses from the MMU and what steps it might have taken to protect the MMU.
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