Court Journal Man freed in Guyana for supplying fake

HIV testing kits, is now charged in US for the same crime

…accusedofdivertingandsellingtestingkits fromKenyatoGuyana’sMinistryofHealth

Davendra Rampersaud, a InGuyana,theprovisionofthe December 2019, Rampersaud and that in 2016, Rampersaud was sacked employee of Caribbean HIVtestingkitshadbeensupplied CMS made payments to the other informed that he was not Medical Supplies (CMS), who by an authorised dealer for the alleged conspirators and that the a u t h was freed last May on charges of Caribbean,apracticethathadbeen payment was for “medical manufacturers products The supplying fake HIV testing kits to in place for several years commodities which had been matter was raised again in March the Ministry of Health—was on According to the court documents diverted from Kenya and other the following year, when the January19last,arrestedbasedona seen by this publication, CMS countriestoGuyana. warrant issued in relation to the headed by Rampersaud is not same kits supplied to Guyana, authorised supplier of the reiterated that some of the indicating that the actions money laundering and other manufacturers’ products and as products had been funded by involving Rampersaud were charges. such, was and is not permitted to USAID with the money being unlawful. This however did not Rampersaud along with providethecompany’sproductsto transferred to Kenya from the US. prevent Rampersaud or his others, have since been slapped the Guyana Government’s In June 2015, CMS through partners from persisting with the with a number of charges after his MinistryofHealth.Tothisend,the Rampersaud solicited HIV testing unlawful practice, the court arrestinFloridaandthematterhas documents allege that CMS, kits from the manufacturer papersread. since been transferred to another Rampersaud and others, indicating that the incumbent In January 2020, it was District, South Carolina. He was knowingly conspired to, and supplier for the Caribbean at the discovered that 400 HIV rapid released on bail on Monday agreed to commit a number of time was “no good” and that he testing kits for Kenya had been AccordingtoUSCourtdocuments offences against the US waslookingtosecuresome30,000 diverted to Guyana and supplied seen by this publication, Government. suchkits. to the Ministry of Health. In Public Health, Volda Lawrence, Rampersaud along with his These include knowingly The following month, Guyana, Rampersaud had denied warning that it is aware that there unnamed accomplices allegedly stealing and converting to their Rampersaud reportedly provided charges which alleged that on are counterfeit Uni-Gold HIV test engaged in money laundering, things of value from the US themanufacturerwithafraudulent January 16, 2020, Caribbean kitsinGuyana. aiding and abetting a crime, theft Government, namely the supplies letter of authority for CMS to Medical Supplies Inc. allegedly The Irish company supplied from the US Government, photographic evidence, which Conspiracy, stealing or indicated clearly that the kits converting/unauthorised expired in July the previous year selling/unlawful receipt and theft The company, Trinity Biotech, in inrelationtoHealthCaresupplies. its complaint, named CMS

By Renay Sambach

According to the records, According to the manufacturer, Rampersaud during one of his the fake boxes were created with initial appearances had waived his expiry dates extended by 17 rights to an identity hearing or a months and the kits repacked in preliminary hearing in addition to them. The Irish pharmaceutical other legal procedures which was company said that the products granted by US Judge Jacqueline were already six months out of Becerra In the superseding date when it was brought to indictment against Rampersaud, Guyana Trinity Biotech also the US prosecutors outlined that claimed that its Trinidad-based the United States Agency for a u t h o r i z e d d i s t r i b u t o r,

Transcontinental Medical (USAID,) is a US federal agency

International Development

Products Limited, is the only that provides economic authorized distributor for the Unidevelopment and humanitarian Gold kits to Guyana and it had not assistance around the world with participatedinthetransaction. missions in 80 countries and In fact, Trinity called on programmes in 100 countries Lawrence to remove the expired including Kenya. As such, it was kits from testing centres furtheroutlinedthatUSAIDispart immediately as they posed health of the President’s Emergency Plan riskstopatients. for AIDS relief (PEPFAR) as part provided under the USAID operate as the distributor for the sold and supplied 400 units (20 In May last year, Magistrate ofthecountry’sresponse. programs to their own use and Caribbean. packs) of Uni-gold HIV Test Kits, Zameena Ali-Seepaul freed Among the beneficiaries of gains. Additionally, the alleged By November 2015, under the Batch #HIV7120026, with Rampersaud, after he had been that PEPFAR programme is perpetrators knowingly sold the stewardship of then Health misleading representation, a charged with supplying the Kenya, and is organised under the items without authority as well as Minister, Volda Lawrence, CMS violation of the Food and Drugs Ministry of Health (MOH) with Kenyan Medical Supplies willfully stealing and converting was awarded a sole source Actof1971. expired HIV test kits. The case Authority (KEMSA) that falls to their own use things of value of contract for the supply of the According to reports, a against Rampersaud was under that country’s Ministry of the US Govt. It was noted that testingkitsfromthemanufacturer quantity of the testing kits was dismissedasthecourtupheldanoHealth and is provided monthly KEMSA through the US It has since been found that seized by the GA-FDD from the case submission, agreeing that the with vouchers for the operations, authorities had received in 2014 between that time and 2020, MaterialsManagementUnitofthe prosecution failed to prove including for the supply of HIV HIV testing kits among other Rampersaud through CMS had Ministry of Public Health, at essentialelementsoftheoffence. testingkitsandothersupplies. healthcare supplies which was been wiring monies to his alleged Diamond, East Bank Demerara, The defence also contended

The unnamed manufacturer, then found to be diverted to other conspirators, as payment for the and from local hospitals and that the prosecution failed to according to the court documents destinations including in Guyana, HIV testing kits, a number of laboratories. obtain sufficient evidence to show seen, authorises specific which Rampersaud with others which was diverted from Kenya

The probe was launched into that Rampersaud imported the test companies as distributors of its supplied to the Guyana that had already been paid for by the fake HIV testing kits after an kits and they also failed to products in order to protect their Government. It was noted that USAID. Irish manufacturer last January establish that the court had integrity between November 2015 and The court documents noted wrote to the former Minister of jurisdictiontohearthematter