State Appeals Dismissal of Fraud Case Against Former APNU+AFC Minister, DHBC General Manager
The State has filed an appeal against the decision of Senior Magistrate Leron Daly to dismiss the conspiracy to defraud charge against former Public Infrastructure Minister under the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government, David Patterson.
The charge stemmed from a feasibility study for a new Demerara River bridge. The former minister and Rawlston Adams, the former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), had been accused of conspiring with each other and persons unknown, to defraud the DHBC of $162,635,015 between November 18, 2016, and February 1, 2018, in the capital city of Georgetown.
On January 17, 2025, the magistrate at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts ruled that there was no evidence of a fraudulent agreement between Patterson and Adam.
Accordingly, she found both of them not guiltyHowever, the State has since filed an appeal challenging the magistrate’s ruling. In a Notice of Appeal filed with the Court of Appeal, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, has requested to have the magistrate’s entire decision set aside and/or reversed.
The country’s chief prosecutor is also seeking an order for Adams and Patterson to cover the costs of the appeal. The appellate court is yet to set a date for the hearing of this matter.Prosecutors claimed that they, along with unidentified individuals, improperly diverted funds from the corporation’s Asphalt Plant account to finance a feasibility study and design project for the new bridge—an expense allegedly beyond the DHBC’s mandate.
The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) conducted an investigation into the Auditor General’s Report for the 2016 fiscal year, which revealed that the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) had violated the Procurement Act by awarding a contract to LievenseCSO in December 2016 for a feasibility study and design project for the new bridge.
The investigation found that the MoPI disregarded the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board’s recommendation to retender the project.
Instead, the ministry proceeded with engaging the company to carry out the work. Patterson’s ministry at the time defended the single-sourcing decision, stating that Cabinet was involved in approving the selection of LievenseCSO and citing constraints related to the urgency of completing the new bridge.
Following an investigation by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)—an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Adams and Patterson were charged in January 2021. Pending the hearing and determination of their trial, they were each ordered to post bail in the sum of $200,000.
