No criminal charges for PM over unreported bank accounts

The Integrity Commission's Director of Corruption Prosecutions, Keisha Prince-Kameka, has ruled out criminal charges against Prime Minister Andrew Holness for allegedly making false income declarations.

She cited insufficient evidence regarding the non-disclosure of four bank accounts in his asset filings.

The ruling, tabled in Parliament today, stems from a recommendation by the commission's Director of Investigations, Kevon Stephenson.

Stephenson had probed concerns that 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 Holness' net worth growth of $51.6 million over five years ending December 2021.

While his net worth "appeared to align with income for some years," the commissioners called for further examination of the growth of net assets of companies where Holness and close family members are majority shareholders.

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 commission 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 it sent Holness 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.

The prosecutor further noted 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 emphasised 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 offence," she concluded.

Meanwhile, Stephenson said Holness had not "satisfactorily" explained the source of payment for an asset acquired in 2019.

Additionally, while there were no concerns over Holness' 2021 income and assets, Stephenson identified an "unexplained" net worth growth of J$1.9 million for Holness and his company, Imperium, over the same period.

The investigator said his efforts to scrutinise Holness' financial situation were hindered by the Prime Minister's alleged refusal to provide a detailed breakdown of his expenses, preventing a thorough assessment of his assets and liabilities.

"This refusal on the part of Holness inhibited the DI's ability to make a more comprehensive and final assessment," Stephenson explained.

He added that without further investigation into Holness' finances and connected companies, a final conclusion on illicit enrichment could not be drawn.

Stephenson also flagged significant financial transactions among three companies tied to Holness: Imperium, Positive Media, and Estatebridge.

Between 2020 and June 2023, these companies recorded deposits and withdrawals amounting to over J$473 million and J$427 million each, raising further questions that remain unresolved.

The Integrity Commission says the issues with the companies connected to Holness have to be investigated by the Financial Investigations Division before Holness' income and asset filings can be certified. 

The Director of Investigations said for the second investigation, he examined 3,600 transactions involving approximately 28 bank accounts associated with Holness. There were over 80 witness statements.

- Jovan Johnson

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