A year-and-half since the police were called in to investigate the use of $600 million from the National Insurance Fund (NIF) for investment in stocks, the probe has still not yet been completed.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) at Gordon House with officials of the labour ministry, Permanent Secretary Colette Roberts Risden said she had no update on the matter.

The investigations are being carried out by the police and the Financial Investigations Division (FID).

“That particular matter was referred by me to them and the ministry has been cooperating fully [but] we have not heard the outcome of that. I want to assure the committee though (that) it was not a matter that funds were expended and those funds were lost. What [occurred] was a procedural breach in approval that we have sort of strengthened and corrected,” Roberts Risden stated.

Government Members of Parliament Norman Dunn and Leslie Campbell expressed impatience with the pace of the probe. Campbell pressed the permanent secretary to explain the reasons for not having the matter pursued as misconduct in a public office.

Roberts Risden said she determined that there was a procedural breach as opposed to wrongdoing, due to the fact that the investments were carried out according to custom and practice which had been used for years, without penalty.

“There is something that is called customs and practice, which was different from what should have been done, based on the documented procedure. The policy says investments (up to a certain threshold) must go to the advisory board for approval, however, over the years what had been happening was that the fund and the staff were given certain latitude, and so they would report at the monthly board meetings. When you have customs and practice for years and it was not seen as a problem, I, at that point, could not then tell someone that what you had been allowed to do for years that you’re now wrong,” she explained.

Roberts Risden said that although the breach did not arise to the level of penalty, she had taken the decision to report the matter to the state agency which investigates financial crimes because additional information had arisen, which now forms part of the investigation. She also indicated that the ministry has since “parted company” with persons connected to the matter.

“So, we are now left where we started. This matter after 18 months or thereabout, with all the expertise which lies in the palm of the people at the FID, they can’t make a determination as to whether there was wrongdoing or otherwise,” Campbell remarked.

Roberts Risden stressed that policy and procedures have since been revised, with safeguards put in place to ensure that there is no recurrence. She said all new investments related to the $120.7-billion fund, now goes to its advisory board for approval.

The Jamaica Observer learnt from law enforcement sources when news of the controversial stocks purchase broke last year, that the board had discovered that managers used NIF money to purchase $500 million worth of shares in a local company without consulting neither the board, the investment committee, nor the finance ministry for approval.

PAAC Chairman Dr Wykeham McNeill suggested yesterday that the committee should invite investigative agencies to outline the reasons for the slow pace of probes into matters involving state entities. “I wonder if any investigation ever come to fruition? There are a number of things we have seen over the last few years and they have gone for investigation and then at the end of a period of time you’re not hearing anything back,” he said.

As of April this year, contributors to the National Insurance Scheme started paying increased rates of 0.5 per cent, a move which the Government said is intended to ensure the viability of the 53-year-old NIF.