A second female Customs Officer – along with brokers Rowan Matthew and Foston George – has been charged in relation to the ongoing probe at the Customs Department.
Jeanette Browne joins her co-worker, Joezine Christian, as an accused in this alleged conspiracy at their workplace.
According to reports, the Police arrested and charged the trio this week and took them before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh this morning, Friday, September 23, on a day that normally sees low traffic in the Court.
Browne, Matthew and George are jointly charged with conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent conversion. On the other hand, Matthew and George face additional charges of obtaining by false pretenses and making a false declaration to Customs.
Matthew and George are already on bail, granted by a High Court Judge on Carnival Monday, August 1, a public holiday.
Accordingly, Chief Magistrate Walsh decided that – as a matter of continuity – both men should make their bail applications in the High Court, and so they were remanded to His Majesty’s Prison.
Browne, however, was granted bail in the sum of $10,000, with a cash deposit of $2,500 and two sureties.
The Court also ordered that she surrender her travel document and report to the Coolidge Police Station every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Committal proceedings are set for November 14, 2022.
Matthew and George, along with Christian, were previously arrested on Friday, July 29, and charged with conspiracy to defraud. The men were also charged for obtaining money by false pretense.
Christian faces two additional charges of corruption in public office and cheating the public revenue.
Those charges relate to over $25,000 in Customs revenues, which Prime Minister Gaston Browne earlier revealed had been misappropriated.
Browne said, then, that millions of dollars had been siphoned from the Customs Department, during which operation his signature allegedly had been forged.
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Well done
Well, if they did the crime then they must do time.
Always wander how come I work so so heard own a business and still working a well paid Job and find it so difficult, while customs officers own and building mansions. You should see the house of this broker guy on the right side leading to Pares village. That is not a house that is a hotel. There is another one up Lion Hill . Lion hill is where road house is located. You should see the house of that custom officer. They believe that get way with murder. Get a good auditor and go right back and let them show how then get their money. Go back to 10 , 25 , 30 years if needs be and in the case of the pussy salad 40 , 50 years. Custom officers, plenty Civil servants especially than engineers at PWD and them that work in the government treasury. They own trucks and equipment now too. The pan guy owned water trucks and equipment and note his equipment got paid handsomely. Audit , forensic audit and we take back and with the crumbs from what we take back we can build a new 1735 with gold. Them crooked lawyers, that looking at loop holes to teach them that rob this country to hide and getaway. Your day is coming too . So go on defend the thieves, the rapist and murderers and get rich and over charge them and get rich . Your day will come to , if not now in Pampers later in life. All you who rob Antigua and Antiguans must pay now are later . God bless Antigua land of sun and sea .
Well from reading this u seems very envious and bad minded and grudge people and also is it not a lawyer job to defend his client?? If we go to by your asrine logic then what’s the point of a defender lawyer??? Bad mind and envy go kill people like u
The police should start doing Social Profiling. And they need to apply the law. When people are convicted of crimes and it can be proven that the assets they have come from monies from the crimes, they need to confiscate these assets, sell them, and use the funds to fight crime. A lot of young guys, not working, are driving around in BMW and Mercedes and the young girls and guys seeing that are getting attracted to this. Once they see what can happen to these people they will think twice about getting involved in this lifestyle.
Corruption is an integral part of the society in which we live. Greed and Dishonesty are the norm of the day.
Man has chosen the evil way and actually believe that he can get away with the sinful acts.
However, a day of reckoning is coming soon for all. We may escape the faulty justice system of mankind, but NO WAY will we be able to delude the righteous justice of the Creator.
Heaven sees ALL and knows ALL.
Heaven calls on us to repent and turn from our evil ways.
Sadly though, the majority will continue down the path of wrongteousness and destruction. This path is easy to traverse: no discipline…. no principle. It all about self and self alone.
The end result is total destruction.
The other way…of righteousness is a path that demands discipline, serious effort and energy to travel this good path.
The majority are afraid of the TRUTH because it troubles their way of life. The easy way of life: filled with vanities and corruption.
All who live their lives in greed, corruption and evil will CERTAINLY PAY one day soon.
You can’t be wrong and get right. No matter how hard you may try.
We have but TWO CHOICES in this life: Good or Evil
No middle ground.
WAKE UP, PEOPLE. YOUR EVIL WILL CERTAINLY BE YOUR DEMISE.
Corruption is too embedded in Antigua. Starting at the very top and trickle right down through the government system. The elected arm of government and the civil servants are as equally bad. Elected ministers come and go except in some cases the get re-elected for several decades , like pussy salad and the AG for example. We also have some PS’s that are equally or more corrupt. Let me give you an example. There was a PS at Agriculture who Brother P and the UPP government had to dismiss for corruption. He is a big ABLP supporter and try a stunt saying he running up rural east. So to clear the for the First Lady he got reappointed as a PS and also appointed as an ambassador. He is also on several government boards. A real player and learn the smooth talking trade from our AG. This one place where the forensic accounting investigation could start. Next PWD , then Education and EBooks , National housing management getting wealthy. Corruption poor Antigua corruption at every level in government. So those of you who are waiting for UPP to take office as UPP supporters and did not get your opportunity. You better had change your minds because if UPP is going to last as a government it must bring about change. No more Baba , flipping car dealer and pole bus dancing. I am going to give you the opportunity once again to make that Chsnge. My next stop will me a more mature DNA – I like what I have been hearing from a few of DNA candidates on the debates/ big issues.
lock up all a them r*ss nobody tawl nuff and boast like them and they’re so unprofessional..Now let’s get to the others involved in fraudulent practices
Yes I envy to see other countries with far less GDP doing much better than Antigua, better roads , better education system, potable water daily, paying less for fuel, better hospital or medical services. All of this is happening because of corruption of elected representatives and civil servants that are corrupt. Antigua reminds me of some of those African nations corruption is the order of the day. Sounds like you are one of those corrupt politician or civil servant or gaining from corruption. Anyone supporting a change from corruption and support accountability can count on my support.
You know after the horrible incident with Comptroller of Custom Samuel, you thought things would have been better. But the dishonesty continued. That is why sometimes you have to bring in a foreigner who has no ties to anyone. Thank God for Mr. Boddu. He has exposed many dishonest practices going down at the custom department. He even exposed the WIOC incorrect calculation of the Consumption Tax which gave PM Browne the ammunition to bring down the price from $80million to $30million. He has more than earned his keep there. The Port is our main revenue earner. Everything is imported and that’s where we earn the most of our taxes to run our country. We need honest men and women to do the job. Men and Women of INTEGRITY. Men and Women that cannot be bought. Men and Women that take pride when they wear the uniform.
I mentioned about the corruption in Government and the acquisition of wealth to include properties and someone said I was jealous. Well did you hear the PM in the town hall meeting in NY. I will say this again that Antigua is all the poorer because of corruption in government. The government needs to stop the Custom officers from charging money for cleaning containers. The moment money exchange start the pandora box is open. We need a forensic accounting investigation into all government institutions, statutory bodies. Everywhere money is collected and spent. Anyone handling contracts on the behalf of the government accounts needs to be audited. Even randomly!
Pay the persons who “you” want to have integrity a proper salary. Pay those who have to submit documents to the integrity commission annually a proper salary instead of trying to make examples outta them. If they have big house, maybe it’s because they invested in cryptocurrency when others were skeptical.
I see good men and women who try to be upright gradually rationalize taking a kick back here and a kick back there cause everyone else in their lane is prospering.
In this blog, names are being named but for every Ebook minister and every PS who tek from amazing grace and every panman and deputy PS who hab truck at cbh, there is a senior clerk who sort out the generous arabs who in turn will ensure that instead of 2for1 they get 5for1.
My Brodder are you justifying corruption. Yes it’s true that some people start off with all good intent but end up joining the line as you said. What about those that regardless of the kickback refuse. I also agree that people should be paid properly. However, they agreed to work for what they are being paid. So if they are not satisfied resign and move on. Instead of stealing from the country
Everytime you go to ask for duty free concession from the government you steal from the government
Everytime you don’t declare >$750value at airport you steal from the government
Everytime you go to work and go over your lunch break you steal from the government
Everytime the g vehicle gives someone’s child a ride, it’s one run that was unauthorized
In life, you have to know there is wrong and there is right, but c’mon get real, resign so that the person who get that very job can go over his/her lunch break sameway.
Whilst we are on the topic, just a slight related diviation. Can someone explain how the court house bailiff procedure works. Do I get a government receipt when I pay for bailiff serves, or do by have to pay the bailiff directly and don’t get a receipt? Are bailiffs at the court house government employees? If so, they should be getting a salary for doing that job, right? Clarify please. Thanks.
Ask serpent
@My brodder,
How much would be enough to pay people not to be corrupt? In other words, every security guard, every police officer, etc etc would have to be paid so much money or the possibility of them becoming corrupt is there. Let me tell you, when you apply for the job you know how much it pays. If you do not like the pay you don’t take the job. Corruption is a person’s character. If it is not in his/her character no amount of money will make them do unethical things. And you are taught those values from a young age. There is nothing called a white lie or a little lie. It’s all lie. Stealing is wrong no matter how small.
@sidelines, Tell that to Gaston
From the sideline well said. Thanks . You explained better than I did .
my brodder said “proper”, there was no need for yinna (sidelines and frankly) to be retarded in yinna rebutal!!yinna defend corruption daily
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