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HOME	OCTOBER 01st, 2005

Mechanical Engineer Alphonsus Daniel wants the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) to investigate and prosecute those persons who allegedly forged his business stamp and signature to approve the construction of a commercial building in St. Mark's.

Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that Daniel has given the go-ahead to his lawyer, Anslem Clouden to get the police to intervene in the matter.

A source who spoke on condition he was not identified said that Clouden is seeking an audience with Acting Commissioner of Police, Maurice Darius to have the police probe the alleged fraud of the signature of his client. Daniel who is the head of Daniel & Daniel Engineering Inc is denying that he was associated with drawing the plans for a controversial building in St. Mark's that got approval for construction from the Land Development Control Authority (LDCA).

Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that the plans were allegedly drawn for the building owned by a Grenadian businessman residing in the United States by a member of the Physical Planning Unit (PPU) of the Ministry of Finance.

The insider is said to have charged between EC$10,000 - $12,000 for the drawings. Copies of the document obtained by this newspaper bore the business stamp and signature of Daniel as the engineer that was involved in the project.

The Ministry of Finance has since announced that it had launched an investigation into the allegations of fraud and corruption inside PPU with respect to the St. Mark's project.

Without giving details about the composition of the investigators, the Ministry in a brief statement said: "The Ministry of Finance is aware of the articles in the local newspapers relating to alleged wrong doing at the Physical Planning Unit (PPU). "The Ministry of Finance is currently investigating the matter and will release a public statement upon completion of the investigation", it added.

Investigations carried out by this newspaper indicate that those involved in the St. Mark's project had approached another person to do the drawings for the building but backed away due to the fees charged.

The person is said to have asked for $16, 000 to do the drawings for the commercial building. According to a well-placed source, it was decided that the fees were too high and it was only then that inquiries were made of PPU.

He spoke of a female employee receiving a telephone call from someone connected with the St. Mark's project. The call was transferred to a male employee of PPU who then indicated that the drawings can be done at a lower cost.

The source said that the PPU employee was paid in installments over a period of time for doing the drawings and getting the project off-the-ground.