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Khurshid Sattaur
Commissioner General
Mission Statement
Our mission is to promote compliance with Guyana’s Tax, Trade and Border Laws and Regulations through education, quality service and responsible enforcement, thereby contributing to the economic and social well being of the people of Guyana. |
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Nadia De Abreu
Director - Corporate Communications Unit
Tel: (592) 227-3680
ext 222 |
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Customs unearth $14M in counterfeit money, other articles
The Guyana Revenue Authority, Customs and Trade Administration today unearthed $14M in counterfeit money and other articles which were imported two years ago. The money was discovered while carrying out routine duties at a city wharf.
The barrel was selected for inspection as it was identified as a want of entry, meaning its time for clearance was long over due.
The Customs Act stipulates that once cargo is entered within 30 days after arrival of a vessel, it is deemed want of entry and the GRA has the authority to dispose of such cargo.
The money was contained in a steel barrel, which originated from London, arrived on May 5, 2006 and the consignee uplifted the documents to clear the consignment on May 11, 2006 but never cleared it.
The matter constitutes a criminal offence and as such the police was called in and the money, 13,956 pieces of $1,000 notes and 183 pieces of $500 notes, was handed over to them.
The barrel and other personal effects have been detained by Customs while the police and the GRA continue their investigations.
Over the years, the GRA has had a robust training programme to enhance the capacity of its employees and it continues to strive to improve its efficiencies and last staffers, especially those in the Customs Department were trained to differentiate between counterfeit and genuine currency.
Officials of the Central Bank (Bank of Guyana) conducted the training. At that training exercise it was underscored by the Bank’s official that according to existing legislation, counterfeiting carries serious penalties including life imprisonment while the penalty for knowingly passing on counterfeit currency to another person is 14 years imprisonment.
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