🥥 PART ONE: THE PROMISE AND THE GOVERNMENT EMBRACE
**How a coconut startup won over a British politician and Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture – before everything fell apart.**
### I. A British Dream on Guyanese Soil
In October 2017, two British businessmen, **Duncan James Turnbull** and **Neil James Passmore**, founded **Pomeroon Trading Inc.** in Guyana. The company took over a sprawling 700‑acre (approximately 1,000‑acre according to some reports) estate along the Pomeroon River, known as the **Stoll Estate**, which had been leased from the Stoll family. The estate, once a flourishing agricultural asset, had become semi‑abandoned as the local coconut industry declined. Turnbull and Passmore, backed by sizeable investment from Europe, set out to change that.
The mission was ambitious: to become the “Caribbean’s socially responsible grower and processor of coconuts,” rehabilitating degraded farmland, employing modern technology, and producing high‑value coconut products for export. Within months, the company was planting **5,000 trees every month** and experimenting with innovative intercropping techniques, including avocado, turmeric, black pepper, ginger, moringa, passion fruit and stevia.
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### II. A Warm Welcome from the Government
From the very beginning, Pomeroon Trading enjoyed an enthusiastic reception from Guyana’s agricultural authorities.
In early 2018, Turnbull and his team met with **Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder** and **Dr. Oudho Homenauth**, Chief Executive Officer of the **National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)** , to provide an update on their nursery and estate rehabilitation work. Turnbull expressed his gratitude for the support his company had received from NAREI and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Homenauth was effusive in his praise. He told the press that he was “more than happy to welcome the investors, whom he has no doubt would boost the nation’s coconut industry.” The 1,000‑acre estate, he explained, “used to be flourishing, but with the decline of the industry years ago, it became semi‑abandoned.” He applauded the manner in which the new investors went about executing their business plan, calling their investment “welcome” and predicting that it would “help the estate to reach its full potential.”
NAREI pledged its full support: selecting suitable planting materials, providing training to the company’s 30 workers, supplying planting materials from its nursery at Charity, and partnering with the company on pioneering new intercrops that had “not achieved scale in Guyana.” Dr. Homenauth concluded that Pomeroon Trading “seems to be very progressive, and they have the necessary finances to do so, and that is why we are going to be partnering with them.”
The company, for its part, sought to demonstrate good corporate citizenship. It built and handed over a dining hall to the Hackney primary school as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts.
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### III. The $1.7 Billion Processing Facility
By 2021, Pomeroon Trading claimed to have cultivated close to **400 acres** with about **35,000 seed nuts** and to have invested approximately **US$3 million** since its founding.
On **May 20, 2021**, Turnbull met with **Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha** to unveil a stunning expansion plan: the construction of a **US$8 million (G$1.7 billion) processing facility** in Guyana. The facility would not only process produce from the company’s own farms but also from other farmers in the region, allowing the company to become FDA certified and export coconut water to the United States. Turnbull told the Minister that the company was actively engaging additional investors and working closely with the United States Government and USAID.
Minister Mustapha **complimented the team for their investment so far**. He told them that “a host of new opportunities will soon be made available in the agriculture sector” as the government worked aggressively to tap into the CARICOM market. The Ministry of Agriculture issued a press release celebrating the plan.
No public concerns were raised by the Ministry about the company’s financial viability, its ownership structure, or its ability to deliver on its promises. The Government of Guyana had fully embraced Pomeroon Trading as a legitimate and welcome investment partner.
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### IV. The Lammy Factor: A British Politician’s Blessing
The company’s most powerful backer was not in Guyana but in the British Parliament. **David Lammy**, the Labour MP for Tottenham whose parents are from Guyana, became an **unpaid adviser** to Pomeroon Trading and held shares in the company between 2019 and 2024.
When the company announced its intention to go public in September 2019, Lammy stepped forward as its most vocal champion. Touring the 700‑acre plantation with Guyanese government officials and foreign investors, he told the media:
> *“I hope Pomeroon’s Initial Public Offering will excite all my fellow Guyanese people as much as it excites me. At a time of huge and understandable focus on the oil and gas industry, it is proof that the country’s Green State Development Strategy is serving in parallel to attract investment, expertise and responsible practice to the agriculture industry.”*
His entry in the register of MPs’ interests stated that he provided advice on “Guyana, the Caribbean and on the company’s community development fund.”
With Lammy’s endorsement, Pomeroon Trading positioned itself as a symbol of sustainable development – a “poster child for Guyanese agriculture,” in the words of its Chief Operating Officer, Jared Kissoon.
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### V. A Historic IPO
On September 3, 2019, Pomeroon Trading announced that it would list all of its shares on the **Guyana Stock Exchange** – becoming the third Guyanese company to list in a decade and the **first ever agribusiness** to do so. The company would issue 133,333 new shares at a price of **US$7.50 per share** to any new investor.
Executive Chairman Duncan Turnbull declared that the announcement “changes everything, making history,” and that listing demonstrated to the Guyanese people that the company was “aligned with the country for the long term.”
Jared Kissoon added: *“I joined the company a year ago with the mandate to build a business that would become a poster child for Guyanese agriculture. Our IPO gives the Guyanese Stock Exchange its first float in a decade and its first ever listed agriculture company. We are building a regional coconut champion for all of Guyana to be proud of.”*
Zena Bone (also known as **Zena Stoll**), the 91‑year‑old owner of the Stoll Estate, publicly endorsed the company at the launch: *“I grew up on the Stoll estate and my parents planted it. Pomeroon Trading is the perfect partner to turn our land into a world‑class business. We are processing and adding value to what we grow and successfully trialing new crops. I hope others will join us on this journey.”*
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### VI. Green Credentials: Carbon Offsets and Global Initiatives
Pomeroon Trading did not just promise agricultural success; it wrapped itself in environmental credentials. The company joined **Initiative 20×20**, a global effort to restore 20 million hectares of degraded land in Latin America and the Caribbean, as a **Financial Partner**. On the Initiative 20×20 website, the company was described as a “sustainable agriculture and carbon offset company” with operations in the Coronie District of Suriname. It committed to being “an ambassador for the objectives of Initiative 20×20 in the Caribbean and Latin America,” raising funding for land restoration, and sharing its experience with the global restoration community.
In September 2023, the company launched an agroforestry project in Suriname, planting a coconut seedling nursery and hardwood trees across a **1,200‑hectare farm** leased from the Surinamese government. The project was featured by the **UN Climate Champions** as part of the “Race to Resilience” initiative, highlighting its carbon offsetting activities, mangrove restoration, and community‑centric approach. The company’s strategy was built around a “4‑C philosophy”: **coconut, community, carbon, and collaboration**.
At the heart of Pomeroon Trading’s environmental strategy was **carbon offsetting** – restoring mangroves, planting trees, and generating carbon credits for sale on international voluntary markets.
The vision, publicly stated, was clear: a sustainable coconut enterprise, backed by a British Deputy Prime Minister, welcomed by Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture, and poised to ride the wave of the global carbon credit market.
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### VII. What the Government Did Not Know – Or Did Not Ask
The Government of Guyana and the Ministry of Agriculture were not passive observers. They were active participants in legitimising Pomeroon Trading. In 2018, the company met with Minister Noel Holder and NAREI. In 2021, it met with Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who publicly complimented the investment. The Ministry issued press releases celebrating the company’s plans. NAREI pledged technical support and partnership.
Yet, for all the fanfare, a series of critical questions were never asked – or, if asked, never answered:
– Where exactly was the US$3 million that the company claimed to have invested?
– Who were the “international investors” providing capital?
– What due diligence, if any, did the Ministry perform on the company’s financial backers?
– Was the government aware that the company was simultaneously being positioned as a carbon credit asset for a future sale to a Canadian shell company?
These questions would only become urgent later – when the company collapsed, when the landowner came forward with allegations of unpaid rent and a ruined estate, and when it emerged that Pomeroon Trading had been sold for a mere $30,000 to a Canadian carbon credit speculator.
But in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, no such questions were asked. The government embraced the promise. The landowner trusted the partnership. The British politician lent his name and credibility. And the company basked in the glow of official endorsement.
The stage was set for Part Two: the mysterious $30,000 acquisition and the carbon‑credit pivot.
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*This is Part One of a four‑part investigative series by the Guyana Anti‑Corruption Network (GACN). Part Two examines the suspicious acquisition of Pomeroon Trading by a Canadian shell company and its transformation into a carbon‑credit speculation vehicle.*
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**References for Part One**
**Reference 1:** Kaieteur News. (2017, November 6). British group makes massive investment in local coconut industry. Retrieved from https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2017/11/06/british-group-makes-massive-investment-in-local-coconut-industry/
**Reference 2:** Guyana Times. (2017, November 5). British investor seeks to transform local coconut industry. Retrieved from https://guyanatimesgy.com/british-investor-seeks-to-transform-local-coconut-industry/
**Reference 3:** Kaieteur News. (2018, February 11). Pomeroon Trading to become major supplier of coconut planting materials. Retrieved from https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/02/11/pomeroon-trading-to-become-major-supplier-of-coconut-planting-materials/
**Reference 4:** Guyana Chronicle. (2019, September 3). Pomeroon Trading listing shares on Guyana Stock Exchange. Retrieved from https://guyanachronicle.com/2019/09/03/pomeroon-trading-listing-shares-on-guyana-stock-exchange/
**Reference 5:** Stabroek News. (2019, September 3). Coconut company preparing to list on Guyana Stock Exchange. Retrieved from https://www.stabroeknews.com/2019/09/03/news/guyana/coconut-company-preparing-to-list-on-guyana-stock-exchange/
**Reference 6:** Guyana Chronicle. (2021, May 21). US$8M coconut processing facility on the cards. Retrieved from https://guyanachronicle.com/2021/05/21/us8m-coconut-processing-facility-on-the-cards/
**Reference 7:** Initiative 20×20. (n.d.). Pomeroon. Retrieved from https://initiative20x20.org/partners/pomeroon
**Reference 8:** Initiative 20×20. (n.d.). Private | Pomeroon Trading. Retrieved from https://initiative20x20.org/taxonomy/term/138
**Reference 9:** UN Climate Champions. (2024, May 14). Race to Resilience in action: Replacing degraded land in Suriname with sustainable coconut farms. Retrieved from https://climatechampions.unfccc.int/race-to-resilience-in-action-replacing-degraded-land-in-suriname-with-sustainable-coconut-farms/
**Reference 10:** Yahoo News. (2026, April 9). David Lammy ‘ran away’ from eco-project that collapsed in chaos. Retrieved from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/david-lammy-ran-away-eco-180000089.html
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*If you have any additional information about this case, please contact the GACN directly.*
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