Dutch investigators are expected to arrive in the island early in the New Year to conduct a probe into allegations that Dutch oil trading company, Trafigura Beheer, bribed officials of the then ruling People's National Party (PNP) last year.

Leader of Government Business in the House, Derrick Smith, told The Gleaner yesterday that the Dutch authorities were scheduled to visit Jamaica "very early in the New Year" to carry out their investigation.

The Trafigura affair was resurrected recently when the Bruce Golding-led administration sought approval for a ministerial order permitting the Government to authorise investigators from the Netherlands to conduct enquiries into the controversial issue.

Earlier this year, a request by the Dutch police to interview PNP officials with regard to their roles in the Trafigura affair was rejected by the PNP Government.

Request renewed

However, after the government changed hands following the September 3 General Election, the request was renewed and the new Jamaica Labour Party administration indicated its intention to cooperate with the Dutch, in keeping with the country's obligations under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime 2001.

The House of Representatives and the Senate approved the ministerial order paving the way for the Dutch to begin their probe locally.

The PNP has said the money was a gift from Trafigura which traded Nigerian crude on behalf of the Jamaican Government, while Trafigura has said it had entered into a contractural arrangement with certain individuals.