ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—The Grenada government Monday said it intends to pursue civil and criminal proceedings against a former government minister who racked up a telephone bill of more than EC$100,000 (One EC dollar = 0.37 cents) from July 2016 to July 2019.
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Claudette Joseph told a news conference that the matter against Sheldon Scott, who served as a senator from 2013 to 2016, is being pursued because he failed to stop using a mobile telephone that was issued to him in his capacity as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister following the 2013 general elections.
“On demitting office, without authorization or permission, and in breach of the conditions under which the mobile phone was issued, Mr. Scott retained it and unlawfully used it for personal or other purposes.
“During such unauthorized use, the government continued to pay the service provider, Digicel, for all charges incurred. This state of affairs continued until July 2019, when the matter was brought to the public domain,” Joseph told reporters. Watch video
That matter came into the public domain after Kem Jones, a political talk show host who is known to be associated with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), said on his radio program in 2019 that the number used by Scott showed that for the months of April to June 2019, he incurred almost EC$70,000 in charges.
An investigation conducted by the telecommunications providers noted that it can safely conclude and publicly state that the leak of the government associate’s bill did not originate from within Digicel Grenada Ltd’s operations.
“When the allegations arose, we made it a priority to conduct an internal audit to establish the facts, ensure that there was no information breach on our part, and confirm that we did everything possible to protect the confidentiality of our customers. Our customers can continue to rely on us and trust that we will treat their personal information with the strictest confidence,” the company said in a statement.
In a statement after the scandal broke, Scott accepted all liability and responsibility for all charges incurred on the number assigned to him and promised to repay them. However, Joseph told reporters on Monday that no payment was made to the government.
“Despite the admissions and undertaking cited…the record shows that to date he made no repayment to the government of Grenada. The sum in unauthorized charges unlawfully incurred by you and paid by the government between 3rd July 2016 and 2nd July 2019 is EC$115,393.32,” said Joseph, noting that the records at all government ministries show no evidence of repayment.
Last weekend, Scott received a pre-action protocol letter giving him seven days to work out a formula for a 90-day repayment plan.
“On behalf of the Government of Grenada, we at this moment DEMAND that within 90 days of receipt by you of this letter, you pay into the Treasury of Grenada, with due notice to the office of the Attorney General, the sum of EC$115,393.32 together with interest for EC$41,544.30, for a total of EC$156,937.62,” said Joseph, reading from the document.
In addition to the demand notice, Joseph said that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had conducted an investigation, and the findings have been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for criminal determination.
Download video – Grenada Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Claudette Joseph
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