Mayne rejects Integrity Commission claim of non-compliance regarding statutory declarations

Junior Minister in the Ministry of Finance Zavia Mayne has rejected claims by the Integrity Commission that he has failed to supply information requested regarding his statutory declarations, thereby breaching the law.

Director of Corruption Prosecution at the commission, Roneiph Lawrence, has recommended that Mayne be charged for allegedly failing to provide information requested on his income and assets.

Lawrence’s ruling, along with the commission’s investigation report by Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson, was tabled in Parliament today.

According to the report, the case stems from multiple requests issued to Mayne between October 2023 and February 2024 for additional details regarding his income, assets, and liabilities as declared for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

“Mayne failed to provide a portion of the requested information, and his failure to do so contravenes Section 43(1)(b) of the ICA [Integrity Commission Act],” Stephenson said.

That provision states that a person who, without reasonable cause, fails to provide information requested commits an offence.

However, Mayne, in a statement issued by his attorney Nigel Jones, said he strongly and vehemently rejects any suggestion of non-compliance.

Jones said the commission’s decision to recommend that his client be charged following a disagreement on the interpretation of a point of law “confirms that the commission is an entity that has lost its way and is on a ‘fishing expedition’”.

Jones said that following a brief review of the report, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, he is of the view that the case against Mayne is “frivolous, vexatious and without legal merit”.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.