KINGSTON, Jamaica – Former general manager of petroleum refinery Petrojam Floyd Grindley and former chairman Dr Perceval Bahado-Singh were granted bail Wednesday morning after pleading not guilty to fraud-related charges.
The two were ordered by Chief Parish Court judge Chester Crooks to surrender their travel documents and return before him on Thursday.
Their court appearance came a day after Grindley was arrested and charged.
On Tuesday, the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) announced in a statement that Grindley was facing eight counts of aiding and abetting obtaining money by means of false pretence.
A week prior, MOCA said Dr Bahado-Singh was slapped with 12 fraud charges related to US$73 620 that he allegedly dishonestly obtained during the time he led the board at Jamaica’s sole petroleum refinery.
It is alleged that between December 2016 and May 2018, Dr Bahado-Singh fraudulently claimed several reimbursements and was paid the monies by Petrojam for overseas business trips that he never attended.
According to MOCA, Grindley allegedly aided and abetted Dr Bahado-Singh and the process he used to fraudulently claim the reimbursements.
The agency, which is focused on tackling corruption in the public sector and bringing high-value criminal targets to justice, said it had conducted a thorough multijurisdictional investigation into the allegations against the two former Petrojam officials, and prepared and submitted a file to the Director of Public Prosecution who ruled that criminal charges be filed. (CMC)
