Opposition issues 72-hour ultimatum to Gov't to rescind Chung's FID appointment

The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has warned that there will be “actions all over Jamaica” if the appointment of accountant Dennis Chung to head the Financial Investigations Division (FID) is not rescinded in 72 hours.

The FID, which falls under the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, is tasked with combating financial crimes and the recovery of assets derived from criminal conduct via the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Chung’s appointment as chief technical director at the entity takes effect on June 2, the finance ministry announced yesterday.

It comes while the FID is under heightened public scrutiny for its role in two of the most high-profile financial investigations in Jamaican history.

These include the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud uncovered at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) and the controversial report on the finances of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, which was referred to the FID by the Integrity Commission last September.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding charged during a press conference on Thursday that “the appointment itself is a corrupt act”.

“We are totally opposed to this appointment…because it’s furthering what we believe is going to be an attempted cover-up of this matter,” Golding charged, while addressing journalists at the headquarters of the PNP in St Andrew.

PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell went further, warning of possible unrest in the country if Chung’s appointment stands.

“We are giving this Government 72 hours to rescind this appointment and if they do not rescind it, there will be actions all over Jamaica,” he warned.

Campbell and Golding declined to disclose what actions are being contemplated.

“You will see in due course what we have in mind,” Golding said when pressed by The Gleaner.

Golding indicated, too, that the PNP is examining whether there are legal avenues to challenge Chung’s appointment.

“Processes can be followed in a manner that achieves an anomalous and outrageous result. And if you move back from the result you can see that the process was flawed,” he said, explaining the legal considerations being explored.

The central issue for the opposition relates to public comments made by Chung about aspects of the findings of the Integrity Commission investigative report on the prime minister’s finances and the SSL probe.

In a September 18 news article published by Nationwide Radio, Chung questioned the “relevance” of some findings in the report, including the movement of millions of dollars among companies linked to Holness and how a company with limited income provided a $20-million loan to another linked entity.

“You don’t have to lend money like that. [You] can lend money by basically being a guarantor, you know, taking it in one name and sending it to another company. There are some things there that I’m still trying to understand the conclusion from it, because I think there are still some things missing,” he said.

Golding charged that Chung’s public comments are “strongly in favour of the prime minister” and “seek to undermine or belittle the impact and importance” of the findings of the Integrity Commission investigation.

“He clearly is a biased person on this matter. He clearly would have a conflict leading the FID to investigate this matter and that is why we are saying he should resign that position if he’s accepted it or the appointment should be revoked forthwith,” he said.

Senator Peter Bunting, Opposition spokesman on citizen security, noted the strong law enforcement backgrounds of past FID heads.

He cited, as example, Justin Felice, Calvin Small, Selvin Hay, all former high-ranking members of the police force with vast investigative competences.

Bunting, a former minister of national security, also took issue with the requirements set out in the job advertisement for the post of FID boss, saying it “looks like a generic management or administrative post rather than for someone who is a chief technical director in a financial investigation unit”.

“Dennis Chung is a weak and unsuitable candidate for this post,” Bunting charged.

- Livern Barrett

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