THE Financial Investigations Division (FID) says it remains resolute in its efforts to deter, probe and aid in the prosecution of financial crimes, regardless of the legal manoeuvres used by actors to frustrate the process, leading to delays in disposing some cases.

Head of the FID, Selvin Hay says such people usually have the legal backing to frustrate the process: “The common thread is that when you have these cases and people of these calibre — when you’re dealing with financial crimes usually it’s going to be against people with means and therefore you’re going to be faced with a lot of these challenges, all of the peripheral issues you can think of — you are going to see challenges.”

Hay and his senior team were speaking at a Jamaica Observer Press Club ahead of the FID’s annual conference, to be held in February.

He said for instance, the FID has experienced numerous challenges with recent high-profile cases that have not even reached the trial stage as yet.

“They are able to hire attorneys. And the challenges, they have a right to make them — the court cannot refuse from hearing these challenges. Those are some of the contributory factors to the protracted nature of some of these cases,” Hay said.

Legal officer for the FID, Charmaine Newsome emphasised that legal challenges can be presented in the form of any number of applications, including for the recusal of a judge. However, she also stressed that these challenges actually assist the process in the long term.

“It is their right as provided for by law, bearing in mind that these challenges or applications that they make, the outcome creates good jurisprudence, so we have no objection,” she said.

Newsome noted that some use fictitious names and addresses to register assets, and set up companies as a front to hide illicitly gained assets. “You will find that yes, there is legitimacy, but when you conduct the investigation,you will find that these companies are shell companies — they are only registered to be used as a vehicle to hide the assets,” she said.

She pointed out that anyone can register a company once they have met the Companies Office’s requirements. “The companies office isn’t going to check to see if a particular address exists; it is in conducting our investigation [that the FID is alerted]…for example when the investigators do the physical check to visit the registered address, it is not even that in [some] instances that you [are able to] find it, but nothing is there — it does not exist. So, there are various ways they use to hide the existence of the asset,” she explained.

But the legal officer said while there is some degree of frustration, the FID is unperturbed, “Not at all. If we were discouraged we would not have had the results that we receive,” she said.

Asset Manager Sydonie Greenwood further pointed to some of the tactics deployed outside of court to delay or interfere with the process.

“When we are to seize the assets they don’t know where the keys are, they don’t have a title for the asset, they will say it’s still at titles office and when we do our checks, it’s not there. Even with properties being sold, most of them do not surrender titles so we have to go through the process of applying for titles, so they will provoke the process.”

But Hay said such challenges are legal, and when they come they gladly challenge or rebut as it creates jurisprudence, which sets precedence.

“It gives us the guide to go again in another case in a more sure-footed way, so it is beneficial to an extent,” Hay added.

In the meantime, Hay said although the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) is not as widely used as it should be, there have been some improvements, particularly through the partnerships formed with the police, MOCA, and Jamaica Customs.

“We have embarked on a strategy to widen the use of POCA so that we can become more cohesive, and formalise our working relationship so that we can become more effective as a group of entities. We have seen improvements, based on the numbers we are seeing. We are at the early stage of the strategy and it’s something we are in for the long haul, and it’s going to take some time to realise the benefits. POCA is a very powerful law, and as we seek to continue to improve it we also seek to continue to improve how we utilise it,” the FID boss stated.

The FID is a division of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, and operates under the POCA. The division now focuses on the need to deter money laundering and other financial crimes, and to increase public awareness of financial crimes and show the impact as well as the importance of their elimination from the society.

Under the POCA the FID has increased investigative and asset recovery powers as well as the establishment of compliance responsibilities for financial institutions and certain non-financial institutions. Its Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) is authorised to seize and forfeit assets that are unlawfully obtained, in order to remove the profit out of crime.

The division is allowed to share information with other designated agencies including the police and Jamaica Customs.