Full Text | ‘Let the truth come out’…Golding reacts to Privy Council ruling on Trafigura matter

President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding says he’s looking forward to the closure of the Trafigura bribery case as the Privy Council this morning ruled that five party functionaries should testify in open court in the long-delayed matter.

The case stems from a request by authorities in The Netherlands for former party president Portia Simpson Miller; former PNP chairman, Robert Pickersgill; current PNP chairman, Phillip Paulwell; former general secretary, Colin Campbell; and businessman Norton Hinds to answer questions about a $31-million donation to the party in 2006 by Dutch firm Trafigura Baheer.

READ: PNP officials lose appeal in long-running Trafigura matter

READ: Trafigura judgment in a nutshell

The donation was made while Jamaica, under the leadership of the then Simpson Miller administration, had an oil-lifting agreement with Trafigura.

Dutch firms are prohibited from making donations to foreign governments.

Reacting to the court outcome, Golding said he welcomes the opportunity for the information to be provided, and for this matter to be disposed of, once and for all. 

See full statement below

The Privy Council has ruled that the information requested by the Dutch authorities in their investigation of Trafigura Beheer should be given in open court.

I welcome this opportunity for the information to be provided, and for this matter to be disposed of, once and for all.

The events concerned took place in 2006, which is 15 years ago, and the delay in completing this mutual legal assistance process has dragged the matter out for far too long.

The Dutch company which made the political donation is under investigation in the Netherlands for an alleged breach of Dutch law.

No offence is alleged under Jamaican law, and no one in the PNP is under investigation.

The information requested by the Dutch authorities should now be provided without delay.

Let the truth come out, and let the chips fall where they may.

I take this opportunity to reiterate that corruption will not be tolerated within the PNP under my leadership.

Our party must consistently embrace, in word and in deed, the principles of honesty and integrity on which our noble movement was founded.

It is what the Jamaican people want and expect of us, and we must always strive to live up to their expectations.

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