US govt to seek forfeiture of visa convict's property here
Stabroek News
August 26, 2002
The United States government will seek the forfeiture of property in Guyana belonging to convicted visa seller, Halim Khan through the local courts.
The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act Chap 7:04 provides for this to be done provided that there is a reciprocal treaty between Guyana and the United States of America for the enforcement of orders made by each other's courts.
When he was sentenced earlier this month, Khan, who with former US Embassy official, Thomas Carroll, was convicted for selling US visas, agreed to the forfeiture of his property and any other held by others for him to the value of US$250,000. In addition, Khan was sentenced to 38 months in prison because he cooperated in the investigation into the visa sale racket.
In contrast, Carroll was sentenced to 22 years and had to forfeit more than US$1 million in assets, which included currency and gold bars seized by the authorities when he was arrested.
The order by US Justice Blanche Manning directs that "upon entry of this preliminary order of forfeiture, the Republic of Guyana and US Marshal shall seize and take custody of the foregoing property (at 29, Kastev Housing Scheme, Meten-Meer-Zorg) for disposition as the Attorney General may direct".
Legal sources say that to effect this the US government would first have to register the judgment and that there should be no difficulty once the order was made by a competent court.
The order also stipulates that Khan would "assist in the repatriation of funds held by him or others on his behalf in the Republic of Guyana or elsewhere, or provide the government with title to assets equivalent to, prior to sentencing to satisfy the money judgment."
In his sworn statement to the authorities, Khan implicated a number of prominent personalities here in an alien smuggling ring into the USA via Canada.
In Carroll's proffered statement to the US Diplomatic Security Services, the Inspector General of the State Department and the US District Attorney in Chicago, Carroll implicated a number of police officers including slain Superintendent of Police, Leon Fraser.