TAX AUDITOR ARRESTED FOR BREACHES OF THE CORRUPTION PREVENTION ACT

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Kingston, Jamaica: Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Officers of the Revenue Protection Department (RPD), with assistance from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), last week, arrested and charged Rhemalee Wint-Lewis, Tax Auditor of the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) for breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.

Mrs. Wint–Lewis was arrested on Thursday September 14, following a joint operation betweenthe RPD and MOCA. She was offered bail in the sum of $400,000 and is to appear in the Manchester Parish Court on Wednesday October 4, 2023.

The allegations are that in July 2023, the accused informed a taxpayer that there was an audit being conducted on their business, which showed a preliminary assessment in the amount of $20M. It is further alleged that she asked the taxpayer for a meeting to discuss the matter in private. During this and subsequent meetings, Mrs. Wint-Lewis offered to reduce the audit significantly by various means. She reportedly demanded $3M and a Honda CRV as payment.

A September 14 date was set for a meeting with the taxpayer to ensure that the motor vehicle could be transferred without being traced and to collect a portion of the requested monies. A sting operation was set up by the RPD and MOCA, where the accused was held with the money in her possession.

In response to the action, Tax Administration Jamaica states that it strongly supports and promotes integrity and accountability in keeping with its core values.

Commissioner of the RPD, Cranston G. Morgan, while reiterating the policy of the Department not to comment on active cases, stressed the importance of partnership and collaboration as critical tools in combatting corruption especially in the revenue service. “The RPD”, he states, “is ready, willing, and able to work with its partners to minimise the occurrences of fraud and corruption and to maximise the ability of the RPD and its partners to cauterise the impact of corrupt actors on the reputation and goodwill of the revenue services”.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Revenue Protection Department
Ministry of Finance & The Public Service
30 National Heroes Circle
Kingston 3.
rpdinfo@mof.gov.jm
RPD: Protecting the Revenue… Protecting the Future

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