“It is the conclusion of the director of investigations that Dr Wheatley was dishonest in his aforementioned representations and, in this regard, sought to mislead and did mislead the director of investigation contrary to Section 48 (3) of the Integrity Commission Act, Section 11E of the Commission of Enquiry Act, and Section 4 of the Perjury Act,” the commission stated in a report tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday.
In the donations report, the commission's director of investigations concluded that, based on the documentary evidence provided during the probe, questions arose about whether the strategic placement of certain individuals in key positions at Petrojam served as “corruption-enabling mechanisms”.
The director said he is making the conclusion on the basis that Palmer is deceased and, as a result, the commission is unable to corroborate some issues, including the presentation by Wheatley that he had divested all matters pertaining to donations within his constituency to Councillor Palmer; the representation by Myrie that Councillor Palmer instructed him to forward e-mail requesting donations from Petrojam Limited on behalf of Homestead Citizens for Action Benevolent Society; and, the representation by Oswald Williams that Councillor Palmer verbally contracted him to construct classrooms at Homestead Primary in Wheatley's constituency.
The director of investigations recommended that a copy of the report and, in particular, the allegations and findings concerning the repurposing of the donation of funds from McCook's Citizens' Association to Sydenham Citizens' Association, and allegations of fraud as they relate to the signatures which were purported to be that of one Charmaine White, be referred to the commissioner of police for the conduct of criminal investigations.
The director also recommended that the report be referred to the FID for further investigations to be conducted in relation to donations made by Petrojam for the period 2016 to 2018 to Sydenham Citizens' Association, Homestead Primary School, Camperdown High School, the University Diabetes Outreach Programme, and the North Eastern Regional Health Authority.
