Government says audits show fraud by former officials

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government says audits have turned up evidence that a former president and other officials were allowed to buy state coastal lands at cut-rate prices.

State Minister Joseph Harmon said Saturday the government-commissioned audits found that former President Bharrat Jagdeo and several ex ministers allegedly paid $50,000 per acre for land that was valued at $400,000 per acre.

Harmon calls the land deals highly irregular. No charges have been filed, though Harmon says the government is in the process of recruiting experts from outside Guyana to help prosecute the cases. Jagdeo’s People’s Progressive Party held power from 1999 until last year.

Jagdeo and the other ex-ministers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He could not be reached Saturday by phone or in a visit to party headquarters.

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