Trevor Benn questioned over two other illegal land transactions
Former Head of GL&SC, Trevor Benn.
Kaieteur News – Former Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) Commissioner Trevor Benn was questioned by fraud investigators about two other illegal land transactions yesterday.
Last Friday, he was placed before Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and charged with illegal sale of land. Benn was released on $ 200,000 bail for a charge alleging he knowingly misbehaved while a public official.
He is accused of illegally leasing six acres of Ogle lands for a total of $ 27M to an engineering firm. Based on investigations conducted to date, Benn had no authority to lease those lands.
As investigations continue into Benn’s alleged misconduct, Chief of Crime Wendell Blanhum confirmed that investigators have since questioned him in relation to two new allegations.
Benn, on leaving the Eve Leary, Georgetown Criminal Investigation (CID) Department yesterday, confirmed this development.
He even detailed those allegations. According to Benn, he was questioned about illegally leasing a plot of land on Mandela Avenue for $ 100M and another along Aubrey Barker Road.
As was the case with the Ogle lands, investigators said Benn had no authority to lease those lands.
Perhaps the plot of land on Mandela Avenue that Benn was referring to was the National Sports Commission (NSC) illegal leasing to Cevons Waste Management.
Kaieteur News had reported last February 17 that Attorney General and Minister for Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had directed Cevons CEO (CEO) Morse Archer, by letter, to vacate the premises.
The letter sent to Archer explained that the NSC still has control of the land and intends to use them.
However, it was noted that the land was leased to Cevons for a large sum of money in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). That Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the company and former GL&SC Commissioner, Benn.
Cevons then after securing the illegal transaction went on to sublet that State’s property to oil company Sol Guyana Inc., and Corum Restaurant Holdings, which owns fast-food franchises including Church’s Chicken and Mario’s Pizza.
In the letter, Nandlall explained that GL&SC and Benn had no authority to lease the land. Therefore, the whole transaction is illegal which makes the lease to Cevons and the sublease to the other companies void.
As a result, the letter outlined, that Cevons had to vacate the property on or before March 31. If he failed to do so, he could face court action.
The AG also noted that the illegal transaction was a criminal offense and would be reported to the police at CID headquarters.