Charges recommended against PNP councillor Keisha Lewis for failing to file statutory declarations
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Analysis
The article reports an Integrity Commission ruling that charges be laid against a Jamaican public official for failing to file required statutory declarations and account for financials, indicating a government accountability/corruption prosecution matter.
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The Director of Corruption Prosecution at the Integrity Commission has ruled that charges be laid against People’s National Party (PNP) councillor Keisha Lewis for failing to file statutory declarations for three separate periods.
Lewis, councillor for the Lauriston Division in the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation, failed to account for her financials in 2019, 2020, and 2022, an Integrity Commission investigative report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday stated.
It was accompanied by an indicative ruling that she be charged for breaching Section 43(1)(a) of the Integrity Commission Act.
The ruling follows a finding by Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson at the Commission that Lewis failed, without reasonable cause, to file the statutory declarations.
Lewis was served a notice to discharge liability on September 14, 2023, the report said, and was given 21 days to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to Tax Administration Jamaica and submit the outstanding declarations.
However, the councillor reportedly submitted the outstanding financials on October 4, 2023, but failed to pay the penalties for the respective years, which totalled $750,000.
Stephenson subsequently referred the matter to the Director of Corruption Prosecution.
- Kimone Francis
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