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

"There are elements of both sets of transactions, particularly the transactions which were alleged to have involved the disposition of receivables which were due from AIC, which we believe require a thorough investigation in the public interest," Christie said.

"A comprehensive and independent enquiry is also warranted to definitively determine if applicable government procurement procedures and guidelines were complied with by the relevant public officials and public bodies in all of the referenced transactions," he added.

Christie also said the investigations would seek to determine if contracts were awarded impartially and on merit.