ACTING Chief Justice, Justice Navindra Singh, has overturned a decision by Magistrate Dylon Bess to dismiss three criminal fraud matters against convicted fraudster Dave Rajeshwar Persaud.
On Monday, September 8, 2025, Justice Singh ruled in favour of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)—an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF)—granting judicial review orders, including declarations and an order of certiorari that overturned Magistrate Bess’s decision.

The matters, which were before the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts, were dismissed by Magistrate Bess while he was presiding at the Leguan Magistrate’s Court.
According to SOCU, the dismissals came despite the fact that the Magistrate’s Court-assigned clerk had communicated to SOCU prosecutors that the matters were adjourned to June 27, 2025, at 9:00 am.

SOCU detailed in its press statement that on the morning of May 29, 2025, prosecutors received a WhatsApp message from the clerk advising that Magistrate Bess would be sitting in Leguan and requesting a proposed adjourned date. SOCU suggested June 27, 2025, and the clerk agreed.

However, when prosecutors appeared on June 27 and waited for over three hours, they were informed by Magistrate Bess that he had already dismissed the matters on May 29.
He explained that while presiding virtually from Leguan, he dealt with the cases via Zoom in the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts, with Persaud present online from Lusignan prison. As there was no SOCU representative logged in, he dismissed the charges.

SOCU challenged the dismissals in the High Court, arguing that Magistrate Bess acted “illegally, irrationally, arbitrarily, exercised his discretion wrongly, failed to satisfy or observe conditions or procedures required by law and breached the principles of natural justice.”

Justice Singh, in his ruling, found that the Magistrate’s decision “to determine the matters in a different magisterial district was wholly improper,” and further held that “at minimum, the sitting magistrate ought to have enquired from his court-assigned clerk about the absence of the Prosecution before dismissing the matters.”

Consequently, the court granted SOCU’s application and quashed the dismissal orders. SOCU was represented by Attorney-at-Law and Prosecutor, Mr. David Brathwaite.
Following the ruling, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh, Head of SOCU, issued a statement stressing the wider importance of the judgement. He said: “It is unfortunate that SOCU had to resort to court action to ensure compliance of the Magistrate since Magistrates are creatures of statute and cannot arbitrary and without jurisdiction make pronouncements which are contrary to the law and rules governing the administration of justice.”

Karimbaksh further underscored that accountability in the justice system applies to all parties: “State agencies are accountable to the public in the administration of justice, since justice must not only be done but it must appear to have been done, not only on the part of an accused person but on the part of the victim also.”
In April, Magistrate Wanda Fortune at the Friendship Magistrate’s Court found Persaud, also known as Dave Persaud, guilty of obtaining $30 million from a widow by false pretence.