Among other things, Prime Minister Andrew Holness wants the results of the Integrity Commission’s (IC) financial probe to be rejected as “unlawful” and “unfair.” On December 6, 2024, he will learn whether the Supreme Court will grant his request for a judicial review of the IC’s disclosure of his statutory declarations.
A judicial review gives the court the ability to look at the methods a public body employs to make decisions.
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On Thursday, Justice Althea Jarrett heard arguments from both parties and decided to wait until December 6 to make a decision. The review was one of many administrative directions the king asked the Supreme Court to issue on September 30.
In his controversial 171-page report on the prime minister’s statutory declarations, presented to Parliament on September 17, Kevon Stephenson, the IC’s director of investigation, debated tax compliance and transactions of over $470 million involving connected companies and pointed out unexplainable financial disparities in Holness’ 2021 income filings. Stephenson said that he couldn’t make any judgments about the question of illegal enrichment.
The IC said it could not validate the income statement and sent the issue to the Financial Investigations Division, citing Holness’s failure to provide expenditure information.
In the meanwhile, the prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the report is flawed and inaccurately suggests that he and his business acted in an unethical and unlawful manner.
He asks the Supreme Court to declare portions of the Corruption Prevention Act that were used to investigate illicit enrichment “unconstitutional,” to revoke the report, to stop any further investigations into his financial affairs, and to disqualify some components of the Integrity Commission Act.
Georgia Gibson-Henlin, King’s attorney, of the Henlin Gibson law company On behalf of Holness, his business Imperium Investments Holdings Limited, and two more associated businesses, Positive Media Solutions Limited and Positive Jamaica Foundation, Henlin is spearheading the court review action.
Among those who answered are the Integrity Commission itself (third responder) and two senior commission executives: the head of investigations (second respondent) and Craig Beresford, the director of information and complaints (first respondent).
The business Hylton Powell represents the IC and its delegates. The lead attorney is Michael Hylton, King’s Counsel and a former Jamaican solicitor general.
