KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley says it would be in good order for the findings of an eight-year anti-corruption investigation into the multi-million dollar campaign finance allegation which had rocked the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) to be publicised.

The scandal erupted in 2016 and saw at least five senior members of the PNP being accused by a former member of the party’s executive of pocketing millions of dollars that had been earmarked for the party’s coffers.

Fitz-Henley made the call during his contribution to the debate in the Senate on Friday on an order which will broaden the scope of offences the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) is able to investigate.

He was responding to Opposition Senator Lambert Brown who had argued that the MOCA order placed unnecessary focus on “minor crimes” including those affecting the fisheries sector.

“MOCA ought to be focused more not on the simple crime that the 14,000 police ought to be addressing, but on the criminal connection to corruption and so, for example, what I would like to see us saying to MOCA is help us develop an approach to unexplained wealth so we can put unexplained wealth into our laws in order to deal with unexplained wealth. I want MOCA to investigate illicit enrichment. MOCA must go after the big fish,” Senator Brown told the Upper House.

Fitz-Henley, in his contribution to the debate, argued that the amendment to the range of offences MOCA is allowed to investigate is not inconsequential as legitimate participants in the fisheries sector, which contributed $30 billion to the country’s gross domestic product last year, require a level playing field.

The government senator said he is confident that MOCA generally probes a range of alleged offences including illicit enrichment.

According to Fitz-Henley, the campaign finance scandal which was made public when then PNP Treasurer Norman Horne moved to explain the party’s 2016 General Election loss and accused senior PNP officials of pilfering millions of dollars of campaign contributions from private sector entities, is suitable for a MOCA probe.

“Senator Brown speaks of major alleged criminality in the politics and he called for MOCA to pursue certain investigations. I believe this matter where the media reported the then PNP treasurer accusing senior party members of pilfering millions of US dollars of campaign funds is ripe for an investigation by MOCA. In fact, the then Office of the Contractor General had announced a probe. That office has since been subsumed into the Integrity Commission. I believe after eight years of investigation it would be good for due process to be observed and the findings tabled in Parliament.” Fitz-Henley said.