Senior Magistrate Sunil Scarce on Friday dismissed a charge of obtaining money by false pretence against 75-year-old Vishnu Mungal, ruling that the matter was a contractual dispute rather than a criminal offence. The decision came after testimony from the complainant, Karan Singh, and a detailed submission from Mungal’s attorney, Bernard Da Silva.
Mungal, a resident of Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was accused of collecting $14,040,000 from Singh on March 2, 2023, under the alleged false pretense of owning a barge capable of delivering 5,000 tons of stone.
Singh claimed the payment was made based on Mungal’s representations. However, during cross-examination, Singh admitted that he never paid Mungal directly nor transferred any money to an account owned or controlled by him. Singh testified that the funds were wired to a bank account in Trinidad under the name of New World Transport, as directed by a proforma invoice. He also acknowledged that the invoice did not originate from Mungal.
Vishnu Mungal
Singh further stated that he had a prior business relationship with New World Transport and had successfully completed previous transactions with the company, facilitated by Mungal. He admitted to being familiar with Brian Balfour, a representative of New World Transport, and had spoken to him on numerous occasions regarding the transactions. Singh also revealed that Balfour had expressed a willingness to return the funds, which suggested a contractual disagreement rather than fraudulent intent.
In his no-case submission on Friday, Da Silva argued that the prosecution failed to establish the elements of the offence. He highlighted that Singh’s testimony demonstrated that Mungal did not obtain any money directly or indirectly, and the payments were made voluntarily to New World Transport. Da Silva contended that since Mungal had no control over the funds and there was no evidence of false representation on his part, the charge could not be substantiated.
Da Silva further argued that the evidence presented by the prosecution was manifestly unreliable and failed to meet the prima facie standard required for the case to proceed. He emphasised that the complainant’s admissions undermined the allegations of fraudulent intent and pointed instead to a contractual dispute between Singh and New World Transport. He cited case law to support his argument that the absence of evidence proving dishonesty or control over the funds by Mungal was grounds for dismissal.
Magistrate Scarce agreed with the defence’s submissions, ruling that the matter did not constitute a criminal offence. He concluded that the evidence supported the existence of a contractual relationship, not fraudulent conversion, and dismissed the charge against Mungal.
Following the ruling, Da Silva remarked that the court’s decision reaffirmed the principle that allegations must be supported by credible evidence. Mungal, who maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, expressed relief at the outcome.
