PNP’s Vaz pleads guilty but says battle to clear name not over

FORMER People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Central Dwayne Vaz has indicated that his guilty plea to breaching the country’s Integrity Commission (IC) Act on Tuesday is not the end of the matter.

In a mid-afternoon media release, after he entered the guilty plea in the Corporate Area Parish Court, Vaz pointed out that he only addressed the charge of, ‘failure without reasonable cause to provide information requested to the Director or Information and Complaints by way of notice dated November 3, 2020 and subsequent extension dated November 20, 2020’.

This charge relates to a 2020 notice concerning a delay in providing specific information about one entity with which he is associated.

Vaz reiterated his claim that he subsequently submitted all required documentation thereafter and received a letter from the Integrity Commission, dated May 18, 2021 and stating that his statutory declaration up to December 31, 2019, had been reviewed and was found to be in compliance with the Integrity Commission Act, 2027 – Section 42(3)(a).

“During his plea, Mr Vaz pointed out that he intends to argue his case based on the May 18, 2021 letter, asserting that it discharged his obligations under the Act. He also highlighted a significant procedural lapse: as the Integrity Commission once again did not present the May 18, 2021 letter to the court, a document crucial to Mr Vaz’s defence,” the release said.

“Mr Vaz wishes to emphasise that he has no outstanding declarations and notes that the notice was issued three years after the letter confirming his compliance was received,” the released added.

Vaz — who is slated to return to court on June 6, 2024 for sentencing — has indicated that he remains committed to resolving this matter in accordance with the law.

In a report tabled in Parliament last Tuesday, the IC indicated that Vaz was to be charged for failing to file his statutory declarations for 2019.

According to the IC, Vaz had filed his statutory declaration for 2019 on March 30, 2020, in keeping with his obligation as a legislator. However, the IC wrote to him on November 3, 2020 requesting a financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2019 for a company named Estelar Global Services Limited, for which he was one of two directors between 2014 and 2021.

Vaz was given a November 16, 2020 deadline. Several reminders were issued to Vaz when the deadline elapsed. On December 7, 2020, contact was made with Vaz via cellphone and e-mail, reminding him of the information requested to which he responded a day later requesting until December 18, 2020 to provide the outstanding information.

The commission said that subsequently a notice to discharge liability was served on Vaz on February 18, 2021, wherein he was given 30 days to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to Tax Administration Jamaica and submit the outstanding information to the IC.

“Checks made with the Information and Complaints Division revealed that on March 5, 2021, prior to the expiration of the notice to discharge liability, Mr Vaz provided the requested information,” the IC said. However, upon the expiration of the notice to discharge liability period on March 11, 2021, the payment of fixed penalty was not made.

As such, the IC’s director of investigation concluded that Vaz failed to discharge his liability consistent with Section 43(3) of Integrity Commission Act and referred the report to the IC’s director of corruption prosecution for consideration.