Following repeated dismissals in the magistrates’ courts of criminal charges instituted by the police against agents of sports-betting giant Superbet, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has instructed the lawmen not to file any new charges until they have received advice from her.
The directive came in the wake of a request from Superbet’s attorney Anil Nandlall, who, a week ago, wrote to DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack SC, registering his objections to the police instituting and prosecuting charges under the Tax Act against his client’s agents. He outlined that in these particular tax cases, it is not the role of the police to file or prosecute any such charges, but rather that it is for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to do so.
According to Nandlall, in recent weeks, over 30 charges have been withdrawn or dismissed by magistrates across the country. He said that recently, Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool dismissed more than a dozen charges, instructing the police not to refile any without first obtaining the advice of the DPP.
