A 31-year-old contractor and businessman accused of swindling two men out of more than $4.5 million, has been released on $950,000 bail – despite strong opposition from the prosecution, which argued that his past conduct suggested he might skip court.
Michael Sukhu of Lot 81 Courbane Park, Annandale, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday. He faced two charges of obtaining money by false pretence, and pleaded not guilty to both.
According to the first charge, on September 18, 2023, at Rupert Craig Highway, Sukhu allegedly obtained $500,000 from Gordon Barker after claiming he could supply 21 cubic yards of concrete. The second charge alleges that on February 8, 2024, at South Road, Georgetown, he collected $4 million from Bisnauth Singh under the pretext of selling him a plot of land at Tuschen North, East Bank Essequibo, property that had already been sold to Vidyanand Deokinandam.
Represented by attorney George Thomas, Sukhu sought “reasonable bail.” Thomas described his client as a known contractor in the concrete industry and reminded the court that Sukhu had previously been remanded on similar charges but was released in February of this year. Since then, the lawyer said Sukhu has attended every court hearing related to his pending matter.
“He is not a flight risk,” Thomas told the court, adding that Sukhu’s passport remains lodged with the authorities, that he has co-operated fully, and that there are no claims of witness tampering.
The prosecution, however, urged the Magistrate to deny bail, stressing the gravity of the allegations, Sukhu’s history of missing court dates, and the fact that he faces other pending cases.
Prosecutors revealed that a summons was previously issued for his non-appearance and that Police were only able to reach him because he was already in custody. They further noted that the latest complaints were lodged just a day before Thursday’s hearing and that more charges could follow.
“He is no stranger to the court,” the prosecutor argued, warning that Sukhu might not return if released.
Magistrate McGusty questioned whether Sukhu was on bail in another case and what those charges involved, but the prosecution could not provide the details at the time. Thomas countered that his client had “learned his lesson” from the earlier summons and has since been punctual in attending all hearings.
After weighing both sides, the magistrate acknowledged the seriousness of the accusations and the past non-attendance but nevertheless granted bail – $200,000 in the case involving Barker and $750,000 for the Singh matter. Sukhu is due back in court on August 29.
‘No stranger to the court’
Reports show that Sukhu was remanded to prison in October last year on two counts of fraud involving construction projects. Between January 18, 2022, and April 26, 2022, he allegedly received $2,428,000 from Jasodra Kistoo for building a house but failed to deliver. In a separate case, between October 1, 2021, and May 23, 2022, he reportedly took $4.1 million from Abdool Safeek for the construction of another house, completing only the foundation before allegedly diverting the rest of the money for personal use.
Safeek told the court he paid Sukhu a total of $6 million for the project at Lot 9 First Street, West Meten-meer-Zorg, West Bank Demerara. When the work stalled, Safeek said he repeatedly tried to get either completion of the job or a refund. Sukhu later issued a promissory note for $4.1 million but allegedly never repaid the amount.
Kistoo’s case involved a $5,643,000 down payment for a house at Lot 83 Fyrish, Bush Dam, Corentyne, Berbice. Although she received partial refunds totalling $3,215,000 between August 2022 and February 2023, Sukhu allegedly refused to repay the outstanding $2,428,000.
Investigators claimed Sukhu operated under the names Shane’s Engineering Enterprise and Atlantic Housing Constructs to defraud customers.
In earlier court proceedings, Prosecutor Williams had also objected to bail, stating that Sukhu once provided police with a false address, resulting in an arrest warrant. That case was reportedly put on hold in May 2024.
Other reports allege that in October 2022, Sukhu conned victims by claiming he had access to a quarry and could deliver stone, and in 2023, a construction company paid him $1,209,000 for 29.5 cubic yards of ready-mix concrete that was never delivered.
