Fired NICIL head, Heath-London, remains in police custody

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Colvin Heath-London, has remained in police custody for his role in the alleged giveaway of prime state lands.
Heath-London’s arrest forms part of a probe, led by Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, into the sale of state lands during the tenure of the Coalition government.
According to information reaching Kaieteur News, Health-London was taken into custody on Friday.
Over the weekend, the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, which is now in Opposition condemned the “detention” of Heath-London, and have called for his “immediate” release.

A statement from the coalition yesterday read: “Mr. London is not a politician, he is a highly regarded professional who worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of Guyana… This is obscene and contemptible and we demand Mr. London’s immediate release from custody.”
Though not a politician, Heath-London, as well as the former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, were accused of playing primary roles in not just the giveaway of the lands at Peter’s Hall on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD), but also at Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

Though these prime lands were worth billions of dollars, NICIL vested large parcels in the hands of a number of investors, receiving a fraction of the payments in some cases and in others, none at all.
In fact, Kaieteur News had reported how Jordan and Heath-London had vested almost 100 acres of prime Ogle lands that were valued at $3B, but NICIL received a meager $64M as payments.
Recently, this publication exposed how two local businessmen received prime East Bank lands without any making any payments to the agency. Both of these businessmen are being accused of illegally transferred acres lands to Chinese national, Jianfen Yu, for just $200.

Police are now attempting to locate Yu, whose address was listed as 43 Wellington Street, Georgetown.
This newspaper, however, understands that the man is currently in China.
The transactions all occurred under the Coalition’s watch.
Notably, when the PPP/C assumed office in August, a number of developers who had illegally received lands from NICIL, took the decision to return the parcels. The developers premised their rescinding on the fact that they wanted to engage with the government, but on transparent terms.