Witness gives police new statement in middle of Petrojam trial

TAMARA Robinson, the legal officer and corporate secretary of Petrojam, admitted in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday that she was prompted by a prosecutor in private on Thursday to give an additional witness statement to the police to be used as evidence in the fraud trial of two former officials of the State-run oil refinery.

Attorneys representing the two former officials — Floyd Grindley, who served as general manager, and Perceval Bahado-Singh, who was chairman from 2016 to 2018 — fumed and protested in court over the revelations, but to no avail.

Both Bahado-Singh and Grindley were arrested and charged in relation to fraudulent claims submitted to Petrojam, which amounted to US$73,620, between December 2016 and May 2018. The allegations are that Bahado-Singh submitted claims for overseas trips he did not undertake while Grindley is accused of aiding and abetting Bahado-Singh.

Robinson revealed she had been discussing the evidence with the prosecutor who told her she was still her witness and that it was okay to discuss the case together.

Robinson said that after being prompted by the prosecutor she checked her e-mail to refresh her memory on Bahado-Singh’s place of residence during his chairmanship. Following the discussion she was visited at Petrojam by the police, who requested access to e-mail.

In a letter to and from the Ministry of Finance, Robinson queried whether Petrojam could take care of travel expenses for board members living overseas. This query was made following a board meeting in which a member of the board, Harold Malcolm, announced that he would be migrating and wanted to know the options when travelling.

Last week, Robinson had told the court that Bahado-Singh, in response to Malcolm’s concerns, said he had read a document which stated that all travel expenses for board members attending meetings should be covered.

“We spoke on Thursday afternoon after the court was dismissed and we spoke about an e-mail with attached letters, including my letter to the Ministry of Finance and the letter from the Ministry of Finance,” she said, pointing out that the discussion with the prosecutor continued on Friday.

“The prosecutor told me that the police would take a third statement from me,” she said, admitting that she also read a newspaper article detailing the testimony of a previous witness regarding Bahado-Singh’s address.

During cross-examination from attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, who is representing Bahado-Singh, Robinson told the court that during a meeting in Miami in 2016 she signed for and handed Bahado-Singh his per diem in cash, without disclosing the amount.

She was asked about her recommendation, during a subsequent meeting of the board of directors, that all members of the board who reside overseas should consider resigning. Robinson said she was not prompted to make the recommendation on the instructions of then Minister of Science Energy and Technology Andrew Wheatley.

She went on to tell the court she was aware that Bahado-Singh received no salary as chairman and that a joint venture agreement between Jamaica and Venezuela, which governed how both parties would operate the entity, did not prohibit a board member living overseas.

The trial continues today.