CHARGES LOOM

Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-03 | Original Article

Minister of State and St Ann South Western Member of Parliament Zavia Mayne is to be charged for breaching Section 43(1)(b) of the Integrity Commission Act (ICA).

 

The Integrity Commission’s (IC) director of corruption prosecution, acting on a recommendation from Director of Investigation (DI) Kevon Stephenson, ruled that Mayne should be charged for failing, without reasonable cause, to provide information requested by the director of information and complaints (DoIC).

 

The IC had launched a probe to determine whether Mayne – an attorney-at-law and state minister in the Ministry of Finance – failed to submit information required to support his statutory declarations covering 2018 to 2022. Under the ICA, public officials must supply additional information requested by the DoIC for verification of their declarations.

 

If convicted in the parish court, Mayne could face a fine of up to $500,000 or imprisonment for up to six months. The court may also order him to comply with the outstanding requirements.

 

According to the investigation, Mayne did not provide the DoIC with gross income earned from rental properties for 2021 and 2022 or documentation supporting the source of those earnings.

 

The IC noted that his 2021 statutory declaration listed $6 million from rental properties, but no such income appeared in his 2022 declaration.

 

“Further checks of his statutory declaration for 2022 revealed that Mr Mayne had disposed of a property at Shop #16 Springs Plaza for one hundred twenty million dollars ($120,000,000.00). No supporting document was provided for the disposal of this property,” the IC stated.

 

With respect to National Commercial Bank (NCB) Visa credit card numbers ***1212, ***5980, ***1705, and ***5512, the IC said Mayne did not submit to the DoIC the requested information for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.

 

The IC said no information related to these credit cards was included in the NCB attachments on Mayne’s statutory declarations for the years stated above.

 

However, a letter dated February 22, 2022, issued by NCB, was attached to Mayne’s 2021 statutory declaration. The letter provided details regarding the aforementioned credit cards to include the balances as at February 22, 2022, and confirmed that these accounts were all active.

 

Similarly, no supporting documentation was supplied for NCB credit card ***792 for 2020, 2021, and 2022. The IC found that none of the requested credit-card information was included in his statutory declarations.

 

The IC also divulged that Mayne declared an investment of $2 million in Mayberry Investments. However, it said the MP did not provide any supporting documentation regarding his Mayberry Investments (managed portfolio) accounts or Mayberry Investments (cash/current account) account ***55 for the year 2022 as requested by the DoIC.

 

Additionally, the IC said no information was submitted for Mayberry Investments (Mayberry USD Money Market) account ***34 for the specified period.

 

The IC said third-party verification confirmed that Mayne is the owner of the mentioned accounts.

 

In outlining the basis for the charge, the DI noted that an offence under Section 43(1)(b) is committed when an official required to file statutory declarations fails to provide further information lawfully requested in writing. The DI said Mayne received the DoIC’s written notices, was aware of the requests, and offered no reasonable cause for not complying.

 

Stephenson’s July 2025 report detailed multiple written requests sent to Mayne seeking additional information. While Mayne filed declarations for 2018–2022, the IC said he did not comply with several follow-up requests.

 

The IC cited an October 13, 2023, letter in which it requested audited financial statements for Water Valley Development Foundation and Racqstar Development Limited, plus details on bank accounts and insurance policies. A follow-up letter dated November 9, 2023, sought information on rental income, his salary from Zavia Mayne and Company, and audited financial statements for five companies linked to the state minister.

 

Mayne responded on December 18, 2023, apologising for the delay and asserting that the queries in the November letter had already been answered in earlier declarations.

 

The MP requested from the IC “the legal basis on which requisitions are made in relation to acquisitions made prior to the time when the duty to file statutory declaration would have arisen”.

 

Mayne further stated: “The requisition in relation to limited liability companies is unclear since the law mandates the filing of a personnel [sic] financial declaration. The request for audited financial statements of limited liability companies, I believe is outside of your jurisdiction and is improper. I will gladly reverse this position with proof of your legal authority to do so.”

 

He also included in his letter that he was ready to assist the IC with the finalisation of his declarations, but the recent correspondence from the DoIC suggests that the DoIC is on a “fishing expedition”.

 

editorial@gleanerjm.com

 

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