Ramps Logistics Guyana Inc. (RLG) has been cleared by the Guyana Magistrates’ Court on all charges of fraud, the company said in a release. The matter was brought before the court by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in October, 2022. The tax and customs regulator claimed Ramps made several untrue declarations.
After calling several witnesses to testify over the trial period, Magistrate Dylon Bess ruled that Ramps had no case to answer to and dismissed all charges against the company.
Ramps Logistics Guyana has expressed gratitude to their lawyers, Pratesh Satram and Mahendra Satram of Satram & Satram and Attorney Nigel Hughes of the Law Office of Hughes, Fields & Stoby, who led their defence in this matter. They have also thanked their team members and stakeholders who stood by them throughout the unfortunate incident.
Ramps said, “We are grateful for the support from our lawyers, Pratesh Satram and Mahendra Satram of Satram & Satram and Attorney Nigel Hughes of the Law Office of Hughes, Fields & Stoby, who led our defence in this matter. We also sincerely thank our team members and other stakeholders who have stood by us throughout this unfortunate incident.”
Ramps Logistics Guyana said it remains committed to working closely with the GRA and all other agencies to ensure all processes are transparent and within the realm of the law. Ramps also said it aims to continue to positively contribute towards Guyana’s growth and development in the energy and non-energy sectors.
During the same period of the institution of charges, Ramps had been involved in a controversy with the Local Content Secretariat, during which it publicly disagreed with the agency’s decision not to grant it a Local Content Certificate. The documentation is for companies that qualify as Guyanese companies according to the definition of Guyana’s Local Content Act 2021. It was important for Ramps to pursue the recognition, as it had business with Exxon that was in jeopardy. Ramps took the Secretariat to Court and won, shortly after, receiving its certification and benefiting from a contract extension by Exxon.
