SOCU to benefit from another British expert – Quinn

The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) is expected to benefit from more training and capacity building by experts from the United Kingdom.
This is according to British High Commission, Gregory Quinn, who told reporters last week that his Government is committed to lending more support to the local financial investigative body.

Previously, the British High Commission had sponsored Ireland-based financial investigation expert, Dr Sam Sittlington, as an advisor to SOCU.
Dr Sittlington returned to the UK earlier this year after completing two short stints here. He spent a total of 14 weeks here. However, High Commissioner Quinn noted that the new expert that will be here is going to come for a longer period; maybe two to three years.
“Because that is going to be a longer term commitment than what existed when Sam was here, there is a tendering process that needs to be undertaken until that person is appointed. Now I don’t know whether the company Sam works for will submit a proposal to make that tender but if he does, it will be looked at in exactly the same way as everybody else who submits a tender,” the British Diplomat explained.
He added that they are looking to have the new expert in Guyana by November the earliest but before the end of the year. Quinn noted that if the expert does not come by that time, then they will definitely be in the country early in the next calendar year since his Government would already make a decision on who to award the contract to and what their work schedule is going to look like going forward.

While, the British High Commissioner is not sure that Dr Sittlington will be the one to return, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has stated sometime back that he would like for the Ireland-based fraud expert to come back.
The Minister had explained that since Dr Sittlington had made certain recommendations to strengthen SOCU, he would be the fittest person to determine whether those were properly implemented.
The Irish consultant had come in for much criticism during his final stint in Guyana. He was at the helm of a probe that led to the arrest of several former Government Ministers and officials, including former President and current Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, over the purchase of plots of land at the Sparendaam seawall area, commonly known as “Pradoville II”.
The parliamentary Opposition had accused Dr Sittlington of going beyond his advisory role and taking on executive functions with regard to the arrests, pointing out that he was going on operations such as raids and arrests. The British Advisor was with the team of SOCU ranks who had gone down to the Opposition Leader’s Church Street, Georgetown office to arrest him back in March over the Pradoville probe.
High Commissioner Quinn subsequently clarified that Dr Sittinlington is at SOCU in an advisory and training capacity and not in an operational role. In referring to statements the financial fraud expert had made to media operatives, Quinn noted that he was merely explaining the legal basis and rights on which SOCU took the actions they did.
Days later, Dr Sittlington found himself in more hot water after it was revealed that he along with Minister Ramjattan and other top officials of SOCU had converged at a popular city night spot to “sip wine”. This newspaper had reported that SOCU Head Sydney James, Dr Sittlington and Ramjattan were seen clinking glasses in an extremely celebratory atmosphere.
This was on the evening of the second day SOCU had hauled in the former prominent Government officials for questioning. Ramjattan had subsequently confirmed that this happened, saying that it was a farewell for the British expert who was leaving the following day after completing his work.
That celebratory event had come on the heels of resounding cries that the Executive has been giving orders to SOCU to attack former Government officials as part of its witch-hunting exercise.