Christie to probe 'sweetheart deals'
May 23, 2008
Contractor General Greg Christie yesterday revealed his office will conduct formal investigations into claims, by finance and the public service minister Audley Shaw, that investment firm Dehring, Bunting and Golding (DB&G), had entered into "sweetheart deals" with the Government of Jamaica.
Plans for the investigation came just a day after Peter Bunting, People's National Party (PNP) member of parliament for Central Manchester and former DB&G executive, retracted statements he made last week accusing Shaw of misleading the House with his claims about a so-called sweetheart deal.
Face sanctions
Shaw had made his accusations about the deals between DB&G and the government earlier this month, but Bunting rejected his claims and said the finance minister had breached the Standing Orders. He also demanded that he withdraw his remarks or face sanctions.
Christie said the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) would probe certain transactions which were alleged to have involved the sale, to DB&G, of government-owned receivables which were due from AIC Limited, and the resale of a portion or all of the said receivables, by DB&G, to two public bodies - the National Insurance Fund and the National Housing Trust. He said the OCG would also undertake a formal investigation into the transaction which is alleged to have involved the provision of a US$29.6 million, 120-day, short-term bridge financing facility, by DB&G, to the former Ministry of Finance and Planning.
A thorough investigation...
Author: Gleaner Reporter
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
