Integrity Commission denies clearing fraud accused JLP councillor

The Integrity Commission of Jamaica (ICJ) has sought to distance itself from a Radio Jamaica news report citing embattled Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillor Kim Brown-Lawrence’s claim of being cleared of fraud and corruption charges stemming from the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) scandal.

Brown was cited as having informed Thursday’s sitting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation that the Integrity Commission had cleared her on Wednesday.

But the ICJ, in a post on its Twitter page Thursday, tweeted: “The Integrity Commission of Jamaica is not the Integrity Commission that is named in the report.”

Efforts to get a comment from Brown-Lawrence were unsuccessful.

But her lawyer, Claudia McKay, said she had not seen any such report from the commission.

“I don’t know of any report and my client’s instruction to me is that she heard about this on the news as well, and I don’t have any instruction about anything happening at a meeting this morning,” McKay said.

The councillor was charged in the corruption scandal that rocked the CMU in 2019.

Former education minister Ruel Reid, his wife Sharen, their daughter Sharelle, as well as former CMU president, Professor Fritz Pinnock, were also implicated.

The five accused were arrested by law enforcement agencies in 2019, in connection with a major fraud and corruption probe by the Financial Investigations Division involving transactions at the CMU.

The charges included breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act, conspiracy to defraud, misconduct in a public office at common law, and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The long-standing case, which is currently stalled in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, is set for mention Friday.

The matter is unable to proceed to trial because of a judicial review hearing and a decision by the Court of Appeal for leave for Pinnock and Reid to go to the Privy Council.

Brown-Lawrence had, however, expressed frustration last year with the delay in the matter.

It is unclear whether Brown-Lawrence will contest local government elections, due by 2023, on a JLP ticket.