David Patterson and Rawlston Adams’ trial to commence April 20

Mar 16, 2021 News

$160M fraud charge…

Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson.

Kaieteur News – Yesterday, one month after they denied a charge which alleges that they defrauded the State of over $160M, the trial date for Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, and Former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), Rawlston Adams, was set. The trial is expected to commence on April 20, 2021.
The trial is expected to be conducted by Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. On the last hearing of the matter, the duo was served with some of the statements of the witnesses that are expected to testify against them.
According to reports, Patterson is being represented by attorneys-at-law, Ronald Burch-Smith and Nigel Hughes, while Adams is being represented by attorney-at-law, Glenn Hanoman.
On Patterson and Adams’ first court appearance, they were not required to plead to the charge since it was laid indictably. They were also both placed on $200,000 bail each.

Former General Manager of DHBC, Rawlston Adams.

However, the prosecutor had requested that the charge be laid summarily, so that the matter can be tried in the Magistrate’s Court, as opposed to a preliminary inquiry (PI) being conducted in the Magistrate’s Court before the matter is either sent to the High Court or dismissed.
On February 15, 2021, the charge was changed and laid summarily and Patterson and Adams were required to enter a plea after the charge was re-read to them.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that between November 18, 2016 and February 1, 2018 at Georgetown, they conspired with each other and with other persons unknown, to defraud the DHBC of $162,635,015, funds of the DHBC’s Asphalt Plant Account.
The charge is in relation to a contract that was awarded to a Dutch company, LievenseCSO, to conduct a feasibility study and design for the new Demerara Harbour Bridge between Houston, East Bank Demerara, and Versailles, West Bank Demerara.
Kaieteur News had reported that the charge was brought by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), a branch of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). There is an ongoing probe by SOCU in relation to Patterson’s role in sole-sourcing the Dutch company that was selected to conduct the feasibility study.
After the contract was made public in 2017, the then Opposition, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), had called for a thorough investigation by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) into the awarding of the contract to the Dutch firm, this later triggered an investigation by SOCU.
The PPC in its investigation found that Patterson’s request to Cabinet for approval of the contract was not forwarded through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). As a result, the PPC had asked for the tender to be reset. NPTAB had given approval for the project to be retendered, but it was not.
The PPP/C was adamant that the bypassing of the procurement process was illegal, but SOCU later stated that it had sought legal advice, and that there is no evidence that a criminal offence was committed.
Earlier this year, SOCU reopened the case and Patterson and Adams were later called in for questioning by SOCU and the charge was later instituted.

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