Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s financial issues should be investigated, according to recommendations made by the Integrity Commission (IC) the Financial Investigation Division (FID), and Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ).
On September 17, 2024, the IC presented a worrying 179-page probe report to the Parliament, which included the referrals.
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Furthermore, when the prime minister submitted his statutory statements to the commission for the 2019–2022 period, he failed to report several bank accounts on which his name was listed. As a result, the IC chose not to prosecute him.
The House of Representatives recently received tables including the inquiry report, an addendum, the commission’s decision, and a special report. It concludes a two-year probe that saw the prime minister’s statutory statements not certified.
The goal of the inquiry was to determine if Holness had assets that were out of proportion to his legitimate income and whether he had broken the law by making false representations in his statutory declarations through omissions.
The four bank accounts in question were in the names of his mother, father, and a former constituency worker; the total balance of the accounts was slightly less than $446,000. He claimed he was added to the accounts in his parent’s names, and regarding the former worker, he recalled encouraging her to open the account but could not remember how his name ended up on it.
The cases that have been sent to FID and TAJ include transactions totaling more than $150 million with several entities, including Barita Investments, and one bond for $94,000. A business that has been suggested is connected to one of his sons. (JIS)
