GOVERNMENT OF GRENADA GETTING TOUGH ON RETURNED CHEQUES

St. George, May 05, 2008 -- The Government of Grenada views with great concern the growing list of returned cheques, now in its possession, totaling almost EC$300,000.00, as at April 7th, 2008.

The Government hereby advises and reminds the general public that according to the Criminal Code Section 283, Sub-section 2: “Whoever fraudulently issues a cheque for the purpose of obtaining credit, or in purported satisfaction of a debt, or for the purpose of obtaining any other thing, where the credit, debt or other thing is of a value exceeding two thousand dollars when he knows or ought to know that there are not sufficient funds in the account regarding which he issues the cheque, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.”

In this regard the Ministry of Finance is seeking legal advice:

§    To publicly name persons committing the offense; and

§    To formally prosecute these persons.

All persons who have issued cheques to Government, and are aware that these cheques have been returned by their respective banks, are asked to come into the Accountant General’s Department to have their situation rectified with immediate effect. Failure to do so will warrant further action by Government.

All concerned are asked to take note.