ExxonMobil Guyana and Ramps Logistics on April 10 denied before a Guyana Court, a charge concerning the submission of an inflated invoice to the local tax and customs administrator, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The accusation points to a declaration of approximately US$12 billion for a quantity of oil well equipment and supplies, significantly higher than the actual value of US$4.4 million listed on the invoice. The GRA alleged that Ramps made the declaration and that Exxon “caused [it] to be made and subscribed,” summons documents indicate.
Mariska Jordan, a manager at Ramps, and Steve Gentry, a manager at ExxonMobil, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly to face the charge concerning the untrue declaration to the Revenue Authority on November 16, 2023.
Representing ExxonMobil was a team of lawyers led by Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo, while Ramps was represented by Senior Counsel Sophia Chote from Trinidad and Tobago. Attorney Jason Moore appeared for the GRA.
Both defendants denied the accusations, and are set to return to court on June 28, 2024.
In a statement, Exxon said Ramps, its former broker, made a “clerical error.”
Exxon said it did not compose the erroneous declaration, nor was it aware when the declaration was filed. The company stated however that the error did not give rise to any financial loss to the GRA and the government.
“Furthermore, it is important to note that the information included in Customs declarations is separate from, and not used for, the calculation of cost recovery or tax statements, and therefore this error has had no impact in those areas either. [ExxonMobil] has cooperated fully with the GRA in its investigation, including providing the agency with corrected information,” the company stated.
Exxon said it is dedicated to ethical practices and that this issue sparked a review of the work process with its new broker to prevent recurrences.
This is not the first time Ramps appeared before the Court for its declarations to the GRA. In 2022, the company faced 10 charges for false declarations but was cleared in April 2023.
