No legal action against ‘victims’ of suspect Coalition land transactions -Vice President Jagdeo

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said the Government will not pursue legal action against persons co-operating in the probe into the Coalition State land transactions.

The Guyana Police Force and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) are currently investigating the matter. 

The Government has said senior officials of the past Administration were involved in the distribution of prime, commercial and agricultural lands at Ogle, East Coast Demerara, Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara and the Wales Estate, West Bank Demerara.

The questionable transactions are said to have occurred after the December 2018 no-confidence motion and the March 2, 2020 polls.

“It is going to happen; it is just that we are not obsessing about it and we are not going about it in a vindictive manner. We want to make sure that we do not go after victims. We want to go after the planners and perpetrators of the large crimes of transferal and theft of state assets,” Dr. Jagdeo said during his press briefing on Friday.

With the investigations underway, the Vice President said persons now have options.

“Those who received the land and are prepared to give it up with the large tracks of land, we promised persons that we will take back the land because it was given illegally. Those individuals have a pathway. They don’t have to worry about criminal actions being taken against them,” the VP said.

Several persons have already returned the lands, which has now opened an opportunity for them to get back those lands through a legitimate process, once the Government decides how the lands will be utilised.

Dr. Jagdeo said the Government has had an almost “benign” attitude to persons who were forewarned about conducting transactions during the period the former Government was operating under a caretaker status.

“The architects are not going to get away so easily because how could you, when the agreement has a payment schedule, not collect any money or a fraction of the payment schedule and vest the land without people fulfilling their obligation of the agreement?”

Earlier this month, the Attorney General Chambers sought the assistance of the GPF and SOCU to investigate the land transactions of the APNU+AFC Government.

The AG Chambers had named former Minister of Finance, Mr. Winston Jordan as vesting titles to land without full payment from individuals.