Inland Revenue officer charged with corruption
THE TASK Force Janus on Wednesday got its second suspect.
This time, it’s an officer working within the Inland Revenue Division (IRD).
The officer, who is yet to be named, has been arrested and charged with corruption.
This was in relation to allegations he received payments for unlawfully remitting a company’s tax liabilities.
“This is the second arrest by Task Force Janus since its inception as it continues to investigate and prosecute those involved in fraudulent offending,” the police media unit said in a statement.
“The cost to the public in lost tax revenue in respect of the matter now before the Court is $100,850,” the statement added.
“However, it is envisaged that further investigations on the current matter may result in the final amount of evaded tax revenue as being in the vicinity of $5 million.
“The matter will now be referred to the Office of the Director of the Public Prosecutions Service.”
Commissioner of Inland Revenue Aylton Jamieson said he was disappointed that one of his officers had allegedly breached his position of trust and acted outside the values of the IRD.
Mr Jamieson said he could not make further comment in respect of the specifics of the offending as the matter is now sub judice.
“But I wish to remind business entities that they had both a legal and social responsibility to meet their tax liabilities for the benefit of all Solomon Islanders and that any business or company found to be unlawfully evading their tax responsibilities can be assured that they will be held to account,” he said.
Mr Jamieson further stated that the person’s alleged illicit activities were identified by IRD and brought to the attention of the Task Force.
Janus is a joint Task Force between the Royal Solomon Islands Police and the Ministry of Finance & Treasury.
Its focus is to identify, apprehend and prosecute individuals involved in fraud and corruption within the Public Service.
The Task Force is an intelligence led operation with the Ministry of Finance & Treasury having identified a number of individuals suspected of corruption and abuse of their public office.
The Task Force was named after the mythical Roman God Janus, who was seen by the Roman people as a Gate Keeper and a patron of civil and social order.
Its first suspect was the financial controller of the Ministry of Police and Correctional Service, Steven Jude Oto,
Oto faces 11 counts of official corruption in relation to more than $800,000 he fraudulently obtained through alleged dishonest tender processes.
