The appointment of chartered accountant Dennis Chung as the chief technical director of the Financial Investigations Division (FID) has been met with a mixed reception, with some pointing to his lack of investigative experience.

Opposition Finance Spokesperson Julian Robinson, at a People’s National Party (PNP) press conference earlier today (May 29), is adamant that Chung does not meet the requirements for the role.

“If you look at the history of individuals charged with leading the FID, you see persons with extensive backgrounds in either law enforcement, financial crimes, anti-money laundering experience, etc. This is the first time an individual – while having general accounting and management experience – would be leading the FID without specific investigative experience.

“The position is chief technical director and people might say, yes, there are people within the organisation who have the technical experience, but this position requires someone who has that specific expertise. It is important for us to maintain the credibility of the investigations of financial crimes. Putting Dennis Chung there, I believe, threatens that credibility, credibility which is not just local but credibility which is international, because the FID is the main interface with international organisations that cooperate with the country in investigating financial crimes.

“We see this appointment as a retrograde step and it has implications for how Jamaica will be perceived within the international community in relation to this particular matter,” said Robinson.

Economics and financial broadcaster Ralston Hyman condemned the appointment, pointing out that Chung’s views on both Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ statutory declarations and the work of the Integrity Commission are well known.

He believes that Chung will not be impartial on these matters.

Dennis Chung, a former Supreme Ventures executive, is an experienced accounting professional who has held a number of both private and public sector positions.

He has held management jobs at JMMB, Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), and Supreme Ventures. He serves as the chairman of the audit committee of GK Capital and heads the National Solid Waste Agency (NSWMA). He recently stepped down from his position as general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation.

PSOJ president Metry Seaga welcomed the news of Chung’s latest appointment and has every confidence in his abilities as FID chief technical Director of the FID.

An agency under the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the FID is tasked with combating financial crimes and the recovery of assets derived from criminal conduct via the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding is calling for the appointment to be rescinded within 72 hours.

“The question is, will Dennis Chung take a fulsome and forensic approach to both Usain Bolt’s missing US$12.5 million and the prime minister’s unexplained wealth? There is a perception [that] he is biased, and he must demonstrate that is not the case. You can’t have a prime minister who is about to face the country in a general election, whose statutory declarations remain unresolved. I think Mark Shields would have been a better appointment, “ said a former Ernst & Young auditor on the condition of anonymity.