Former CMU worker details university’s accounting, banking systems

A former senior member of staff of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) is expected to continue testimony regarding the school's finances on Wednesday, with information on the now-defunct CAP-YES programme, in the fraud trial of former CMU boss Fritz Pinnock along with former education minister Ruel Reid and their co-accused. The witness, appearing before Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday, testified how money came into and left certain bank accounts controlled by the university between 2016 and 2019, including accounts for payroll, CAP (Career Advancement Programme) and CAPYES (Career Advancement Programme - Youth Empowerment Services) programme, among others. The department in which they worked was guided by the FAA (Financial Administration and Audit Act) and PBMA ( The Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act), the witness said, adding that it oversaw payroll, including salary deductions for CMU employees; accounts receivable, which dealt with collecting money owed to the school; and accounts payable, which dealt with any money the school owed to vendors or debt obligations. While testifying, the witness indicated that the weekly accounts payable process included the submission of documentation verifying the debt obligation, which would be entered on CMUs system and included in an aged payables report. Any vendors to be paid by the school would then be selected from that report. When pressed on what type of vendors this included, the witness listed utility entities, suppliers of goods to the school's tuck shop and others undertaking special projects. The witness also told the court that the school received a monthly subvention from the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Education that was deposited to a specific bank account. When asked where that subvention was funded from, to their understanding, the witness said “from taxes”. That account, the witness said, was used as a flow-through to other bank accounts, including payroll accounts. The witness also touched on the operations of the school's canteen or tuck shop, which had multiple accounts associated with it. The witness testified that cash proceeds would be deposited into the accounts and canteen vendors paid from it, adding that when enough cash was not in the account to pay vendors, the canteen would be provided with an advance by CMU, which would also go to the account. The school also received money from the government for the operation of the CAP and CAP-YES programmes, deposited directly into accounts set up by CMU, the witness told the court. The witness said accounts were used for expenses associated with CAP and CAP-YES, including paying some salaries as well as stipends for students in need and other initiatives. CAP, which is carried out at institutions across the island, was intended to provide technical, vocational, and academic training to youth, and CAP-YES was a programme offshoot attached specifically to the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU). CAP and CAPYES were shuttered at the Caribbean Maritime University in 2020 with instructions to complete the course for those already in training and take in no further applicants. During testimony, the witness identified Pinnock as the former head of the university, pointing out his striped shirt and orange tie. Pinnock, who has sought leave to take notes during the trial, did not react visibly at being identified. He was represented by a junior of his attorney in the matter, Hugh Wildman. Pinnock, Reid and their co-accused, Reid’s daughter Sharelle Reid and wife Sharen Reid and Councillor Kim Brown Lawrence’s are before the court on a 35-count indictment, accused of participating in a scheme with others unknown that siphoned off more than $25 million from the Ministry of Education and CMU. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Issues with disclosure were also put before Burrell in the courtroom on Tuesday with defence attorney Linda Wright, who represents Reid, Carolyn Chuck, who represents Sharelle and Kevon Johnson, who holds for Brown Lawrence’s attorney Oswest Senior Smith, all rising to express concern. Wright maintained that more documents relating to certain witnesses, including the witness scheduled to be called that day, had been shared by the prosecution at a late hour, thus creating challenges for the defence to go through the documents and take instructions from their clients. Wright maintained that this was not a “trial by ambush”, describing the disclosure as untidy. The prosecution maintained that the documents in relation to Tuesday’s witness were not new and that any late disclosure of new documents was not a deliberate effort on its part. Burrell, who reminded counsel to exercise care around disclosure, is expected to grant a brief adjournment in relation to the issue.