Corruption prosecutor recommends charges against finance ministry junior minister Zavia Mayne over statutory declarations

Junior Minister in the Ministry of Finance Zavia Mayne should be charged for allegedly failing to provide information requested on his income and assets, including documentation for the $120-million sale of a shop, the country’s corruption prosecutor has ruled.

The ruling by the Integrity Commission’s Director of Corruption Prosecution, Roneiph Lawrence, along with the commission’s investigation report, was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

In correspondence cited by the commission, Mayne challenged the legitimacy of some of the requests and asserted that commission appeared to be on a “fishing expedition”.

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.

In an October 13, 2023 letter, the Director of Information and Complaints (DoIC) advised Mayne that the commission’s checks “identified information with respect to assets that were not previously disclosed on his statutory declarations.”

The DoIC examines income filings by public officials.

Mayne was given until October 25 to comply with the request for additional information.

He responded by the deadline of October 25, 2023 and provided some information.

But on November 9 that year, the DoIC issued another request for further documentation, with a deadline of November 25.

The November request covered: financial accounts and insurance policies for all five years; details on Cornerstone Trust and Merchant Bank accounts; the disposal price for a 2015 Honda Accord; gross income earned from rental properties for 2021 and 2022; salary/wages from his law firm for 2020–2022; costs to improve six properties; and audited financial statements for five companies in which he has an interest — Dilmayne Enterprises; Jamaica Small Loans; Arim Debt Solutions; Motor Bliss Limited.

“Mayne failed to submit the requested information to the DoIC by the deadline November 24, 2023, without any explanation,” the director of investigation, Kevon Stephenson, said.

In a December 18, 2023 letter to the Integrity Commission, Mayne apologised for his delayed response but insisted that “the queries… have all been answered in previous declarations along with their supporting documentation.”

He challenged the basis of the commission’s requests, asking for “the legal basis on which requisitions are made in relation to acquisitions made prior to the time when the duty to file statutory declaration would have arisen.”

Mayne argued further that “the requisition in relation to limited liability companies is unclear since the law mandates the filing of a personnel [sic] financial declaration. The request for audited financial statements of limited liability companies, I believe is outside of your jurisdiction and is improper. I will gladly reverse this position with proof of your legal authority to do so.”

While saying he remained willing to assist in finalising his declarations, Mayne said the DoIC’s correspondence suggested it was on a “fishing expedition.”

On February 13, 2024, the Integrity Commission served a notice on Mayne requesting additional information and stating that the request was “made lawfully.”

Details initially sought on two bank accounts were excluded.

The investigation report noted that Mayne did not submit the required information by the February 29, 2024 deadline.

He responded on March 4, 2024, saying the February local government elections had affected him and requested 30 more days.

He was given until March 20, 2024, but did not comply.

The report said that on March 25, 2024, Mayne submitted a response, but the director of investigation found that the full request had still not been satisfied.

As a result, the director of investigation undertook independent checks with financial institutions regarding accounts and assets for which Mayne had not provided documentation.

Stephenson found that Mayne repeatedly failed to provide information requested about multiple bank accounts, credit cards, investment portfolios, loans, mortgages and income sources.

The investigator outlined more than a dozen accounts and assets for which Mayne either supplied no documentation, partial documentation, or none of the information requested for statutory declaration years between 2018 and 2022.

The report also noted that Mayne failed to provide information on gross income from rental properties for 2021 and 2022, despite declaring $6 million in rental earnings in 2021.

It said he sold a property at Shop #16, Springs Plaza, for $120 million in 2022.

“No supporting document was provided for the disposal of this property,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson added that Mayne provided no evidence to substantiate salary declarations from his law firm, Zavia Mayne and Company, for which he reported earning $2 million per year in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

The investigator said that despite repeated requests, Mayne did not submit documents confirming gross salary or wages from the firm.

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

That provision says a person who, without reasonable cause, fails to provide information requested by the DoIC commits an offence.

If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $500,000 or six months’ imprisonment.

The court may also compel him to submit the required information.

Mayne, an attorney-at-law and member of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, has been the Member of Parliament for St Ann South Western since 2016.

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