The Integrity Commission (IC), citing insufficient evidence regarding the non-disclosure of four bank accounts in his asset filings, has ruled out criminal charges against Prime Minister Andrew Holness for allegedly making false income declarations.
The ruling, by the IC’s Director of Corruption Prosecutions, Keisha Prince-Kameka was laid in Parliament on Tuesday and stems from a recommendation by the Commission’s Director of Investigations, Kevon Stephenson.
Stephenson had investigated concerns that Prime Minister Holness owned assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings and omitted four joint bank accounts from his statutory declarations between 2019 and 2022.
The investigation was triggered by a September 2022 referral from the commission’s commissioners who had flagged the prime minister’s net worth growth of J$51.6 million(One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) over five years ending December 2021
But Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson said that the IC had no power in law to refer an individual for investigation by an authority such as the Financial Investigation Division (FID).
The IC had sent a letter asking Parliament to support its referral concerning Prime Minister Holness to the FID. The investigation report, an addendum, the commission’s ruling and a special report were all tabled Tuesday in the House of Representatives, marking the culmination of a two-year investigation during which the prime minister’s statutory declarations remained uncertified.
Speaking after the conclusion of Parliament on Tuesday, Tavares-Finson said the IC is asking the Parliament of Jamaica to support the investigation and he is satisfied that the Parliament of Jamaica has no such power and for good reason.
“There is nothing in the constitution, in the laws, and certainly not in the Standing Orders of the Parliament that would authorize the Parliament to refer of support the referral of any member to any agency for investigation.
“Indeed, if that power were to exist, it would be absurd because it would allow any majority in Parliament for any reason to refer any member to police or any competent authority for investigation,” the Senate President said.
Stephenson’s investigation confirmed that Holness had omitted four bank accounts, rendering his declaration “incomplete and inaccurate,” which is contrary to the Integrity Commission Act.
The accounts were linked to Holness’ parents and his St Andrew West Central constituency office.
As of May 2023, the accounts held a total balance of J$445,748, and three had recorded transfers connected to Holness between 2019 and 2022.
One of the primary issues in the investigation was a reporting error by a bank, which initially listed one of the accounts as a US dollar account instead of a Jamaican dollar account.
The bank later corrected the mistake while the probe was at “an advanced stage”, prompting the investigation’s closure in February 2023.
Following that initial probe into Holness’ statutory declaration for 2021, the Integrity Commission requested an updated submission. Holness complied.
The IC said an examination of the revised declaration raised “further concerns”, to include “prima facie that Holness owned assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings”.
The commission then referred the 2021 filings for a second investigation on May 3, 2023. The commission said Holness was sent a letter advising him of the probe in relation to alleged illicit enrichment in a letter dated May 5, 2023.
The second investigation differed from the initial September 30, 2022 referral, which did not undergo a full examination due to omissions in the original declaration, the investigator said.
Stephenson referred the full investigation report, dated August 30, 2024, to the Director of Corruption Prosecutions to determine whether criminal charges for making false statements should be brought against the Prime Minister.
“It cannot be ignored, that as prime minister, and head of government, PM Holness has a higher duty to the public, to ensure that the laws of Jamaica are maintained,” Stephenson noted in his report.
However, Prince-Kameka ultimately decided against pursuing criminal charges, stating there was insufficient evidence to prove Holness knowingly made false statements in his declarations.
“There is insufficient evidence on file to establish that the HPM, by way of omission, made a false statement,” she wrote, noting also that records for two of the accounts involving Holness’ mother were either unavailable or unreadable, making it impossible to establish Holness as a joint-holder at the time.
In relation to the account linked to his constituency, while Holness was identified as a joint-holder, no transactions involving him were found.
For the fourth account, which he shared with his father, Holness had his name removed in September 2023.
Holness argued he had no interest in the account and said the constituency-linked account was for paying an employee.
Prince-Kameka said that a critical factor in prosecuting false statements is whether the individual had actual knowledge or a reasonable belief that the declaration was false.
In this case, she determined that the evidence did not meet that threshold.
“The prosecution would again be challenged to establish that the omission was intentional, as required for the ‘knowingly’ element of this offense,” she added.
Source-CMC
