The director of investigation was caustic in his characterisation of Wheatley’s response to specific questions during a probe into donations made by Petrojam to various organisations and causes between April 2016 and March 2018.

The Integrity Commission scolded Wheatley in a scathing report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, saying that the statement provided by him to the director of investigation, in relation to Wheatley’s relationship and/or affiliation with Sophia Deer, is disingenuous.

“Dr Wheatley was less than truthful in his representations to the director of investigation when he described Ms Sophia Deer as his former technical assistant.

Further, the director of investigation recommends that the report be referred to the Financial Investigations Division for a further probe to be conducted in relation to donations made by Petrojam Limited for the period 2016 to 2018 to the Sydenham Citizens’ Association, Homestead Primary, Camperdown High, the University Diabetes Outreach Programme, and the North Eastern Regional Health Authority.

According to the report, Paulwell advised the director of investigation that the letter he wrote “... was done on the advice of the then minister with responsibility for Petrojam Limited, Dr Andrew Wheatley”.