Forged stamp, signature surface By Gitanjali Singh
Stabroek News
August 23, 2002

Related Links: Articles on corruption
Letters Menu Archival Menu

The Guyana Forestry Com-mission (GFC) was yesterday confronted with what appeared to be a counterfeit version of its stamp and a forged signature of its quality control officer, Hemraj Seecharan.

It is unclear who committed the forgeries but these were used to facilitate the export of Mora sleepers out of Guyana by A. Mazaharally & Sons (AMS) Ltd and the GFC’s attorney, Khemraj Ramjattan, is calling for the police to take over the investigation.Three customs officers yesterday approached the commission with copies of documents for the shipment of Mora Sleepers from AMS, which bore a stamp purporting to come from the GFC and the forged signature of Seecharran, to allow for these exports two weeks ago. The officers were shown the original documents sent to the commission for clearance which were still unsigned and on Seecharran’s desk and the GFC’s approval stamp for the process which was distinctively different from the one used on the form in their possession

Seecharran told Stabroek News yesterday that the signature on the forms brought by the customs officials was not his and was obviously forged as the documents were still on his desk and unsigned. He said he showed these to the customs officers.

As to the stamp on the form in the customs officials’ possession, this varied in size from that which is used by the GFC for its shipping approval process and bears a single dotted line for signature as against two straight lines on the GFC’s stamp.

This was also pointed out to the customs officers.

The GFC’s position is that the shipment of Mora Sleepers by AMS was illegal as it was not sanctioned by the commission and came even as the body was investigating AMS for illegal exports of Mora Sleepers.

The GFC process is that after shipping documents are lodged with it for verification and approval and this is done, the documents are then sent back to the exporting company which would then send these on to the Customs Department to clear the shipment. However, this process leaves the door open to manipulation and makes a mockery of the GFC’s verification and approval process.

Additionally, the two per cent commission paid to the GFC is on approval of the quantity and price stated in the invoice by a firm. This commission was only paid by AMS on Wednesday (August 21st) in a compromise as the investigation by the GFC continues. The commission was paid on the higher amount of sleepers recorded in the Bill of Lading (1,176 pieces) against the 960 pieces recorded on the company’s invoice of August 8, to the Customs Department and the GFC.

However, the value of the sleepers, which is suspected to be under invoiced, remains uncontested for the time being until the investigation is completed.

Ramjattan, asked to comment on the issue yesterday, said the Customs Department should take itself out of the investigation and the police should be called in as there was now reasonable suspicion that someone in customs allowed the consignment of sleepers to go, in breach of the GFC’s regulations. He noted that the GFC had specified to the Customs Department that two persons had to sign the forms to allow shipment of forest produce but the department allowed the shipment with a single signature, in this case forged, and a forged stamp and the unit has to be held accountable.

Contacted yesterday about the customs investigation, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Edgar Heyligar, said that customs was not conducting its own investigation but was cooperating with the GFC in its probe. However, Ramjattan said this was not what he understood to be the case. He said his understanding was that the Customs Department was conducting a probe to see whether there was indeed any revenue loss as a result of the alleged illegal exports and felt that once evidence of forgery surfaced, as was the case now, the department should call in the police.

The GFC had slapped a cease order on AMS last Friday in face of what it dubbed illegal exports of Mora Sleepers by the firm even as the agency demanded data on the firm’s exports of Mora Sleepers between 1998 and 2002.

The cease order, was however, revoked a few hours later after Commissioner of Forests, James Singh, met Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon and Minister with responsibility for Forestry, Satyadeow Sawh.

e invoice in the GFC’s possession from AMS to Horwich Casting Ltd of the UK, quotes 75 BM of sawn Mora Sleepers (5x10x18) and 33BM of 5x10x8 at Free on Board (FOB) prices per BM at US 21 cents and US 33 cents. The former is the more expensive sleeper and is quoted at a cheaper price, which forestry sources said is below the cost of production. The sources said the selling price per BM is in the vicinity of US55 cents to US70 cents per BM.

Singh, who left Guyana on Monday for Brazil, told Stabroek News before leaving that he expected the investigation to wrap up by the end of the month and to give a clear indication of the extent of the revenue loss to the government.

Yacoob Ally, managing director of AMS is still abroad and could not be contacted for comment.

Singh had written to Ally on August 2, informing him that it was drawn to the attention of the GFC that the company had been exporting Mora Sleepers on a regular basis.

“Our records at the GFC do not reflect any such exports. Information received from officers in the Essequibo region indicates that produce is regularly loaded to go to CRL wharf, with explanation that the documentation would be sent to the GFC. Investigations at CRL reveal, however, that no sleepers have been sent to that wharf,” Singh told Ally.

The commissioner demanded in the face of this, details of all Mora sleepers exported by the firm between February 1998 and before or on August 12.

On August 12, Singh received a faxed response from the company saying that in 1998 it was exploring the possibility of a market for Mora Sleepers in the UK with a few flat racks but the experience was not a happy one as the sleepers were detained for want of forest certification and a substantial loss was incurred.

“However, as a result of this experience, we are again exploring the possibility of exporting Mora Sleepers as a means of keeping our nose above water at this time of economic crisis in the timber industry and the economy as a whole,” the company’s response said.

It said that officers no longer in the employ of the firm supervised the details of the shipment of Mora sleepers, but the firm was investigating the extent to which there could be discrepancies in its records.

The GFC on Monday announced that it had launched investigations into the alleged illegal export of forest products by AMS. “It is an extremely serious matter since in effect, it is defrauding the state and people of Guyana of revenues from a national resource,” the statement said.