Opposition tables questions on appointment of FID head
Published:Wednesday | June 18, 2025 | 12:10 AM
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson has tabled questions in the House of Representatives pressing for answers on the process to appoint Dennis Chung as chief technical director (CTD) of the Financial Investigations Division (FID).
Directing his questions to Minister of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams, the opposition spokesman wants to know why the job description for the position of CTD at the FID was revised after the post was initially advertised in November 2024, and who authorised the revision.
Williams has also been asked: “How many persons were shortlisted and how many persons were interviewed for the position of CTD at the FID when the position was advertised in March 2025?”
Robinson wants to know if the FID is required to report to the Ministry of the Finance and the Public Service, and, if so, when was the last report provided to the ministry.
The opposition spokesman is also seeking to determine whether the reporting relationship of the CTD has been changed so that, instead of reporting directly to the financial secretary [as was formerly the case], the CTD now reports directly to the finance minister. If this is the case, Robinson wants to know when that change was implemented? Further, he is questioning: “What is/are the reason(s) for that change?”
The opposition spokesman also wants to know the composition of the panel that interviewed shortlisted candidates for the position of CTD at the FID in 2025.
He is also querying whether the financial secretary and chief personnel officer were members of that panel.
RISING CONCERN
There has been ongoing public debate over Chung’s appointment, with at least two civil society groups raising concerns about the process and the appointee’s qualification for the job.
The Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal questioned Chung’s qualification for the post. The anti-corruption watchdog argued that, while he was a qualified chartered accountant, “there are no known indications” of prior experience in complex forensic investigations involving politically exposed persons, leading or managing law enforcement or financial crime teams, working in anti-money laundering or asset recovery fields or navigating cross-border mutual legal assistance or Financial Action Task Force (FATF)/Egmont standards.
National Integrity Action (NIA) said the implications of Chung’s appointment are far-reaching. It said perceived bias or a lack of transparency in the selection process may significantly undermine public trust in the FID and its ability to conduct impartial inquiries.
“Concerns about Mr Chung’s objectivity raise legitimate doubts regarding the integrity of the investigation into the prime minister’s report from the Integrity Commission, which, in turn, influences how both the public and key stakeholders perceive the findings,” NIA asserted.
NIA urged the Government to provide full transparency on the selection process and criteria used in appointing the head of the FID.
CHUNG’S COMMENTS
In September 2024, Chung made public comments about an Integrity Commission (IC) report on the income and assets of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness. The IC said it could not certify the statutory declarations of the prime minister and submitted a report to the FID for further investigation.
While speaking on Nationwide Radio, Chung questioned the “relevance” of some findings in the report, including the movement of millions of dollars among companies linked to Holness and how a company with limited income provided a $20-million loan to another linked entity.
The People’s National Party has staged at least two public protests against the appointment of Chung.
Speaking during a recent political rally, PNP President Mark Golding criticised the process to appoint Chung, arguing that the FID head was “not qualified for the position because he has no law enforcement experience, no experience in investigating financial crimes, which is the very heart of the purpose of that agency”.
He also asserted that Chung was not suited to head the FID based on his public comments on the IC’s probe of the prime minister’s finances, which the FID has been asked to continue investigating.