The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is to decide on charges following completion of an Anti-Corruption Commission investigation into the removal of fill material from a National Housing Development Trust North Side site.
The fill, which was cleared from the government housing site earlier this year, was allegedly moved to property owned by relatives of an executive member of the board of the government housing agency.
The ACC, in a statement this week, confirmed that, following its investigation, it has referred a file to the DPP, in relation to the National Housing Development Trust, for consideration of charges under the Anti-Corruption Act (Revised).
“The Anti-Corruption Commission will make no further statements on this matter at this time,” it added.
The Compass has reached out to NHDT and the Ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure for a response on the latest developments.
The Ministry, in a statement Wednesday evening, said, it is “not in a position to respond concerning an ongoing Anti-Corruption Commission investigation.”
We are awaiting a response from the NHDT.
Last month, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson confirmed the ACC was investigating the removal of the fill material from a site and its alleged delivery to a parcel of land connected to an NHDT executive using agency resources following questions from Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart.
The Compass was alerted to the allegations in March.
The approximately half-acre of land, located on Ottos Avenue, North Side, had been recently cleared and then backfilled, allegedly using the material sourced from the NHDT site, on the dime of the housing agency.
It was also alleged that fill was moved to farmland owned by relatives of the NHDT executive.
On 14 March, the Governor’s Office, in an emailed response to the Compass, said the allegations relating to the removal and use of the government agency resources “are being treated seriously and are currently being fully investigated”.
In addition, there is an environmental concern as the land had been cleared and allegedly prepped with the NHDT material in the absence of necessary checks, breaching the law.
The Compass, following checks at the Lands and Survey Department, was able to confirm that the land in question does not have any applications, nor Planning Department approvals to clear the wetland vegetation.
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