David Grey, Director of Investigation at the Integrity Commission, has recommended that fraud charges be considered against three former Petrojam officials in relation to surprise parties held for former energy minister Dr. Andrew Wheatley and former Petrojam chairman Dr. Perceval Bahado Singh.
He's of the opinion that Mrs Ramharrack, Mr. Grindley and former head of procurement Ronique Budram-Ford could be charged with fraud under the Forgery Act and the Larceny Act.
Mr. Grey says consideration should also be given to prosecuting them for an offence of conspiracy to defraud Petrojam.
He says these accounting officers breached the law by using public funds to host the parties and repayment of the money does not negate the offence.
The report of the Integrity Commission in relation to the parties details how both birthday parties were held without going through the proper procurement procedures, with documents being generated after the events to allow for payment.
In one instance, Mrs Ramharrack arranged a villa for a surprise birthday party for Dr. Wheatley on January 9, 2018 at a cost of US$11,260 (J$1.37 million).
Despite correspondence with the hotel outlining that the event was a surprise birthday party, documents sent to the Chief Financial Officer for payment captioned the function as the naming of the Howard Powell Building in Montego Bay.
The party held for Dr. Bahado Singh in September 20, 2017 was described as a pre-strategic planning retreat meeting on the purchase order.
The cost of this function was US$10,506 (J$1.357 million).
The Chief Financial Officer told the commission he felt compelled to make the payments after they were authorised by Mr. Grindley.
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