“If you have done illegal things, you must face the consequences” – Dr. Jagdeo

– says PPP will not tolerate corruption in the GPF or elsewhere

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government will not support corrupt practices, regardless of connections or high-ranking positions in public office, the party’s general secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, sternly affirmed.

Dr. Jagdeo, who is also Vice President of Guyana, was questioned by local media at a press conference on Thursday, October 17, about a senior police official at the center of a financial crimes investigation.

“We support the police, we support the leadership of the police, we support them in their work, but they must abide by the laws of this country. The PPP will not tolerate corruption in the police or anywhere else,” Dr. Jagdeo.

Assistant Police Commissioner (ag) Calvin Brutus is currently at the center of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities. The Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) led the investigation.

“If we find corruption in the police or elsewhere, there will be no attempt to cover it up. So if you believe you have a special relationship with the government, we will do that [use] This relationship serves to cover up your misdeeds, you are wrong; They don’t know the PPP,” he said.

Dr. Jagdeo stressed that the government had made it clear from the outset that the investigation would be impartial, calling out the opposition of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) for their previous claims that the PPP government Attempting to do so would frustrate the investigation.

“When this matter came to light, the same opposition said that these individuals or this particular individual is associated with the Government of Guyana and does not trust that there will be an impartial investigation.”

The opposition parties had also demanded that external parties should lead the investigation against the senior police officer.
“We made it clear at the time that the investigation would be professional and there would be no interference from the executive branch to steer the investigation one way or the other and that things could fall where they might.”

It was reported in sections of the media that the SOCU concluded its investigation on October 1, 2024 and the unit recommended dozens of charges against the senior police officer.

As Dr. Addressing the issue last Thursday, Jagdeo confirmed that relevant files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice on how to proceed.

“In the investigation, impartial investigation carried out by a section of the police, there is a recommendation that went to the DPP [to] make several charges of violating the law.”

The senior police officer has since filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court demanding several things.

Dr. Jagdeo further qualified his comments on the investigation, noting that the government would respond through the courts.

“If you’ve done illegal things, you have to face the consequences, and from what I’ve read, a lot of wrong things have happened, a lot of illegalities have happened.”

Jagdeo added: “We will respond to the constitutional petition in court. And there were some fees [recommended]Trust me, our affidavit to respond to these allegations may not be beneficial to the individual in question as we will go into great detail about what our findings were in the procurement system when he was in charge of the administration of the police force.”