The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) today (March 8) arrested former Petrojam chairman Perceval Bahado-Singh.

MOCA, in a media statement, said Bahado-Singh was slapped with 12 counts of obtaining money by means of false pretence. The agency added it is investigating false claims made and paid out to Bahado-Singh over 17 months between late 2016 and mid 2018.

“Allegations are, between December 2016 and May 2018, Dr Bahado-Singh fraudulently claimed several reimbursements and was paid monies by Petrojam for overseas business trips that he did not attend. The false claims over the period amounted to US$73,620,” MOCA said in a media release.

The anti-corruption agency, which has been leading a multi-jurisdictional investigation into discrepancies at Petrojam, said it prepared and submitted a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who ruled that criminal charges be laid.

“Dr Bahado-Singh was interviewed in the presence of his attorney, subsequently arrested and charged by MOCA detectives. He was later offered bail, to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday, March 17,” the agency added.

Bahado-Singh, who was appointed board chairman in 2016, resigned in June 2018 at the height of the scandal that rocked the state-owned refinery.