Fraud suspect cleared of charges by Greg Christie

CONTRACTOR GENERAL Greg Christie on Tuesday cleared a former official at the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) and three companies of conspiring to defraud the SCJ.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding had submitted documents to the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) on September 3, 2009, in which serious allegations were made against the official and the companies.

The documents highlighted specified transactions, which were alleged to have been conducted and/or negotiated with vendors or third parties based in Louisiana, Florida and Jamaica.

According to the documents tendered by Golding, the transactions allegedly involved "fraudulent activities", which were said to be related to the procurement of certain equipment by the SCJ.

Insufficient evidence

In a 117-page report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Contractor General said: "... The OCG has not seen sufficient prima facie evidence to suggest that the named parties colluded and conspired to defraud the SCJ."

Among the documents submitted by the prime minister to the OCG was a letter signed by "a very concerned taxpayer". The letter was addressed to then chairman of the board of directors of the SCJ, Robert Levy.

In his letter the "concerned taxpayer" outlined that "middle men" paid US$161,860.00 for four pieces of equipment and sold them to the SCJ for US$ 456,000, making US$294,140 profit.