Private criminal charges to be filed against MPs not in compliance with Integrity Commission Act- Jagdeo

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said the Opposition has made it clear that it may have to file private criminal charges ministers and members of parliament who have not complied with the Integrity Commission Act.

He said the Opposition had urged the release of the tax records of all the Members of Parliament but for ten years the APNU+AFC rejected this.

Jagdeo said this has been a topic of discussion within the Opposition over the past week since the State Assets Recovery Authority (SARA) seems uninterested in going after these cases under this Government.

He said the target seems to be Opposition members and private individuals hence his party may have to file private criminal charges for non-submission to the Integrity Commission.

The movement of the Commission, the fact that the five staff members were sent home and the executive harnessing control raised skepticism and according to Jagdeo records could be tampered with or destroyed disallowing the prosecution of certain individuals.

According to the Opposition Leader, the State Assets Recovery Bill which will allow for the creation of the State Asset Recovery Authority (SARA) will infringe on the independence of several bodies.

Jagdeo who was speaking during a recent media conference said he had recommended several things to Government among these that once investigations are done in a professional manner that criminal charges be filed against individuals found culpable of committing corrupt acts.

He said this work could be done now in preparation for prosecutions to come, recommending the hiring of an international firm to do the investigative work for a fee or a percentage of whatever they find.