Senate president says IC has no power to refer Holness for FID probe
Published:Wednesday | September 18, 2024 | 8:18 AM
President of the Senate, Tom Tavares-Finson, is asserting that the Integrity Commission (IC) does not have the authority to refer any individual for investigation by the Financial Investigations Division (FID).
His assertion follows the tabling of the Integrity Commission's report on its investigation of the income and assets declarations submitted by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for 2019-2022 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The Commission said "there can be no finality" in the certification of Holness' assets for 2019-2022 without further probe, and urged the Parliament to support the recommendation for the FID to investigate.
However, in a statement to the media on Wednesday morning, Tavares-Finson said "I am satisfied that the Integrity Commission has no such authority to refer any matter to any agency or competent authority to initiate an investigation."
He further stated that the Parliament also has no power to refer anyone for investigation by the FID.
"Indeed, if that power were to exist, it would be absurd because it would allow any majority in Parliament, for whatever reason, to refer any member to the police or any competent authority for investigation. The Parliament simply does not have that power and for very good reason," Tavares-Finson stressed.
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