THE director of corruption prosecution at the Integrity Commission Keisha Prince-Kameka has ruled that a manager at Jamaica Customs Agency should not be charged despite a finding by its director of investigation (DI) that she breached the Integrity Commission Act (ICA).

In a report tabled in Parliament last Tuesday the commission’s Director of Investigation (DI) Kevon Stephenson concluded that the manager had breached the ICA by failing to file her statutory declarations for 2018 and 2019.

According to Stephenson, the Customs manager failed, without reasonable cause, to file her statutory declarations and, in doing so, committed an offence under Section 43(1)(a) of the ICA.

Stephenson said during the investigation it was determined that the manager had an obligation to file her statutory declarations but failed to do so.

He said that a notice to discharge her liability was served on the manager in February 2021 and she was given 30 days to pay a fixed penalty and submit the outstanding declarations.

“But to date [the manager] has failed to comply with the referenced notice,” said Stephenson.

“The DI concludes that [the manager] was, by virtue of being a public official and in receipt of emoluments in excess of $3.5 million, legally obligated to file a statutory declaration with the commission for the years 2018 and 2019.

“The DI concludes that [the manager] failed to submit the requisite statutory declaration to the commission and that she provided no reasonable cause for her failure to do so,” added Stephenson as he indicated that the matter had been referred to the director of corruption prosecution for a ruling.

But in a ruling, also tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the director of corruption, in a terse statement, said upon careful consideration it was determined that no charges should be laid against the manager.

Prince-Kameka, who has laid charges against several people, including politicians, for failing to file their statutory declarations, did not provide any explanation for her ruling in this case.