The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Police Commissioner Leamond Deleveaux said police are 80 per cent complete with their investigation into funds allegedly misused during the small home repairs programme under the Minnis administration.

The programme was supposed to help people whose homes were affected by Hurricane Dorian.

“We are actively involved in that matter, and it’s very close to being resolved,” Mr Deleveaux told reporters at police headquarters on Friday. “I expect very shortly to come back to you and tell you what the results are.

“A whole lot of witnesses have to be seen. We don’t put a time limit on investigations. We have to do investigations properly. So once we get information, we’re going to check the information out, and once it’s checked out, then we’ll make a determination.”

Last September, Disaster Reconstruction Authority Executive Chairman Alex Storr said some people who got aid under the repairs programme used the money to buy “high-end mattresses” and mirrors, among other things.

Mr Storr recently said the DRA forwarded findings of a forensic audit to police after encountering information that made officials uncomfortable.

Earlier this year, Mr Storr said there were missing items at the DRA, including vehicles and building materials.

It is unclear how broad the police investigation is and whether it involves DRA matters outside the small homes repair programme.

The DRA investigation is among several matters connected to the former Minnis administration that are believed to be the subject of ongoing probes.

Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told The Tribune he was interviewed as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the COVID-19 food relief programme, though he was not a subject of that investigation.

Police are also believed to be investigating matters related to the Bahamas Beaches & Parks Authority.