Clerk granted $200,000 bail on cheque forgery charges

Dhamendra Gangdat, a clerk of the Edward B. Beharry & Company Ltd., was on Wednesday placed on a total of $200,000 bail after appearing before Chief Magistrate (ag) Faith McGusty in her Georgetown court to answer two charges of attempting to defraud his employer using forged Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry cheques.

The 29-year-old Gangdat, of Lot 679, 17th Street, Foulis, East Coast Demerara, is accused of having attempted to forge a GBTI cheque valued at $48,500, claiming it was issued by Beharry; and of intending to defraud the company by using another cheque worth $23,500,000. These offences are alleged to have occurred on July 25, 2024 at Vlissengen Road in Georgetown.
Represented by attorney Domnick Bess, Gangdat pleaded not guilty to both offences, and the attorney requested that his client be placed on reasonable bail. He stated that his client is not a flight risk, has no prior convictions or pending matters before the court, is a clerk at the Beharry Company, and has a minor child to support.
He added that his client had been cooperating with investigators since the probe began in August last year, had voluntarily made himself available throughout that process, and that he is the one who had discovered the fraudulent transaction and reported it.
He contended that his client is being wrongfully implicated, as other persons involved in the matter had not been brought before the court; and he argued that no evidence exists to directly link Gangdat to the alleged forgery, as he was not the one who had received the cheques.
Moreover, the attorney contended that Gangdat’ssenior was the one who had signed the cheques, and that Gangdat had simply been familiar with the signature.
The prosecutor informed the court that investigations were still ongoing, and that statements were yet to be gathered.
The prosecutor further revealed that, according to the Beharry Company, withdrawal of that large sum of money was never authorized, nor did the company disburse the funds in question, and the company is unaware of who had ultimately received the money. However, no objection was raised to Gangadat being placed on bail.
When Magistrate McGusty inquired whether there was any evidence that Gangdat had attempted to acquire money from the forged cheques, the defence attorney responded by reiterating that his client did not receive the funds, and that there was no clear link tying him to the crime.
After considering the arguments, Magistrate McGusty granted Gangdat bail in the sum of $50,000 for the lesser charge and $150,000 for the larger sum.
He is scheduled to return to court on March 12 as investigations continue.