NIA calls for full disclosure of divestment of assets seized by law enforcement

A local corruption watchdog group wants full public disclosure and explanation on how billions of dollars in assets forfeited to Government under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) are being managed and divested.

The call by the National Integrity Action (NIA) comes a day after a Sunday Gleaner report about a court order obtained by the Financial Investigation Division (FID) that stripped Jamaican drug boss Andrew Hamilton of half his $1 billion portfolio of assets.

The NIA is the local affiliate of the global anti-corruption group Transparency International.

Fourteen multi-million-dollar homes, four motor vehicles, four bulldozers and a bank account with $19 million are among the nearly two dozen assets, worth over $500 million, which Hamilton recently turned over to the State in compliance with an order by the Supreme Court, the FID confirmed. 

The homes include a penthouse suite and two other apartments in the upper-class neighborhood of Norbrook, St Andrew, and six other apartments in a gated complex on Seaview Avenue, also in St Andrew.

The FID confirmed in The Sunday Gleaner report that it is currently managing over $1.8 billion in assets forfeited to the government via POCA, including real estate, motor vehicles and cash.

Another $1 billion in assets are currently restrained or frozen by  court order, the agency confirmed.

The NIA, in a statement today, commended the FID for the largest asset recovery order in its history, but wants the agency to go further.

"NIA asks that the division discloses and explains fully to the public the criteria on which these and the almost $2 billion in other assets forfeited to the government under the POCA and related legislation are being disposed of or managed," the statement said.

It noted that "cronyism, nepotism and collusion among the wealthy and politically well-connected contribute to the Jamaican economy losing approximately $100 billion annually to corruption and organised crime.”

"In this context, the public needs reassurance from the FID that multi-million-dollar asset forfeiture are being managed and divested fairly in keeping with the law and in accordance with the needs of the public," the NIA said.

It also urged other law enforcement agencies to follow the example of the FID and not only apply the law to the disadvantaged, but to go after suspected criminals "irrespective of wealth or status".

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