$1.2M bail for Corporation 4 on fraud charges

The four - Dyal; Barry Samaroo, a Chief Engineer; Maniram Mohess, a county superintendent and Ian Gokool, a Road Officer I — along with contractor Mahase Sookai of Suk-I Contractors Limited were charged on Saturday after officers of the Fraud Squad consulted with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the issue.

Yesterday, they appeared before Charles who transferred the matter to the Couva Magistrates Court where the five will reappear on Thursday.

Although the prosecution asked that a reporting condition be added to the bail conditions, Charles said nothing was presented to her to warrant such a request, as she pointed out that the $300,000 bail each were granted at the police station, was sufficient to cover the charges and none of the five had any pending or prior charges against them. Insp Dipchan of the Fraud Squad, charged the five for the offence which allegedly occurred on September 30.

It is alleged that the five conspired together to defraud the CTTRC of $1,149,500 by pretending the Suk-I Contractors completed two contractual agreements to install outdoor exercise equipment at the San Pablo Recreation Ground and the Todd’s Road Activity Centre.

Last week Friday, police went to the CTTRC office along Railway Road, Couva and held the employees.

The contract was awarded during the 2014/15 fiscal year, but cheques and other documents related to this were seized by Fraud Squad officers at the CTTRC last November. On November 25, Fraud Squad officers questioned senior employees in the accounting department, when they searched the compound and seized financial records, including cheques and files of contractors contracted by the corporation, as well as other documentary evidence associated with alleged corrupt payments to certain contractors.