Ingraham and Laing NO-SHOW as documents are tabled

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Zhivargo Laing, Frank Smith and Hubert Ingraham.

Bahamas Press noted that Zhivargo Laing and Hubert Ingraham could not be seen in the House of Assembly, as MP for St. Thomas More Frank Smith tabled documents revealing something criminal in the ministry of finance. Laing through officers of the ministry requested the lowering of the duty on the drink Mona Vie for his sister-in-law. A 10% duty was applied on the items, whereas the true and correct duty should have been 45% charged. WHY WOULD LAING BREAK THE LAWS OF THE BAHAMAS AND ALLOW HIS FAMILY MEMBER ROB THE PUBLIC TREASURY? WHAT WILL HUBERT INGRAHAM DO NOW THAT THE FACTS ARE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE HOUSE? Ingraham promised in the last sitting of the House that if Frank Smith can show documents showing the reduction of the duty, someone in the ministry of finance will “go home today.” Again the facts are tabled, now what will Hubert ‘the toothless lion’ Ingraham do?

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The customs showing 10% applied on Mona Vie in October. The company was EZ Imports clearing 150 bottles of the drink. Click to download the full customs document: entry-2-001.jpg

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11 COMMENTS

  2. I agree with Lloyd. The smoking gun here is the fact that under description they put “Mona Vie Juice”. This was on obvious attempt to defraud customs and explains why the wrong rate, 10%, was charged. Items are not put into a category by there name, but their description. For example, if Coca Cola makes a new soda and call it Caffeine Juice, it will be charged the SODA duty rate because that’s what it is and not the juice rate because of its name. When you fill out the declaration you put the DESCRIPTION not the name of the product. Let’s use an extreme case, the popular book series Chicken Soup, under the description you would put book, not Chicken Soup. Customs has the right to go back 2 years by law and extract the correct duty. These people are simply apart of the dishonest Bahamian culture of “getting over”. I am involved in the retail business myself and know first hand how hard it is for honest businesses to operate when there are so many out their that are willing to employ crooked means to gain an unfair advantage. I get regular calls from customs to confirm prices they see on entries and you would not believe the things so called “respectable” business people try to get away with. Somebody needs to be punished and Government Ministers should not allow themselves to become facilitators of fraud.

  3. Unlike you and others Lloyd, I do not check my brain at the door depending on who the players are. You, the PLP, the FNM, and whoever else has the time, can all go to hell..I do not worship man. This is not new information. If I were the Speaker, and the rules allowed, I would have censured Frank for wasting the House’s time with obsolete and irrelevant data…

  5. From day one I’ve been calling Thomas Finley an unapologetic FNM apologist with no affinity for logic or common sense where his almighty FNM is concerned. I maintain that Finley is an ass of the highest order because you have clearly no understanding of that which you attempt to defend.

    The smoking gun, Jan and Media, is right on the document itself. Remember that the PLP kept saying that it wasn’t the rate that was changed but the classification? This case is just Laing and his gravalicious family trying to pull a fast one by claiming a product that has everything and the kitchen sink in it as juice instead of the drink that it is. Tell me Mr. Dumbass Finley what tree do powdered shrimp grow on?

    On the document, you will see that they called the product “Monavie Juice”. That right there is a deliberate attempt to fool customs. So, Tommy boy, it seems you have neither pap nor porridge for brain but something that hit.

  6. The source within the government that informed us about the Cabinet Shuffle long before it happened, noted that Zhivargo Laing should be removed out of the Ministry of Finance.

    On June 30th (the day of the shuffle) Bahamas Press warned the Prime Minister and noted, if he fails to take our advice, that this ‘MONA VIE’ matter “will be detrimental for his government.” We noted on that same day that ‘MONA VIE’ will not have a case in the courts, and everyone will resurface this SCANDAL in future.

    Well, here we are, and Frank Smith is tabling documents, whilst the PM and Laing are ‘NO SHOW’ in the HOUSE.

    The Prime Minister being the “MAXIMUM ARROGANT LEADER” he is did not heed, now he [PM] is being called the ‘toothless lion” for failing to fire a minister who has BROKEN THE LAW of the country!

  7. This all boils own to judgement… personally i take issue with his creditability, should we have this man dealing with our finances?…i think not

  8. LOL Jan. Lookey here, Zhivargo told those guys to keep Mona Vie in the juice category until the new budget was prepared, then it could be put in its correct category.This is not news, and Frank Smith did not produce anything that we did not already know if this is all that he has. Someone importing Juice at 10% after the new budget came into effect was the issue I thought? Porridge and pap for brains…

  9. Thomas,

    In October 2007 the CORRECT rate for a NON-Juice product was 45%.

    The 10% rate was wrong then, and please note that it was Zhivargo who “ALLOWED” his family to pay the INCORRECT 10% rate…… Zhivargo tried to change the rules and used his position of Minister of State for Finance with responsibility for the Customs Department, to force the 10% issue, even though he knew what he was doing was wrong.

    The Customs Tarrif rate for Mona Vie (OFFICIALLY classified as a NON-Juice by the WORLD Customs Organization) had NOT changed – NON-JUICES CARRIED A DUTY RATE OF 45% in October 2007.

    Thomas you seem to keep beating this dead horse ad nauseum………. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? ……… DO YOU ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE 10% RATE CHANGE FOR MONA VIE?

    This can’t only be your support for Zhivargo ………. And I’d hate to think that it’s a matter of you being just DUMB, or that you are such a diehard, that in your eyes WRONG = RIGHT no matter what the person whom you support, did or failed to do.

    So again Thoman, why do you continue to DEFEND Zhivargo so passionately? …… WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

  10. Finley, why was Mona Vie then put back in the category attracting 45% duty. Was it not because having it in the 10% category was wrong as stated by the World Customs Organization in Brussels and by John Rolle?
    If the 10% category was the right one, why the change to the 45% category now?

    The answer is clear, Laing forced Bahamas Customs to keep the Mona Vie in the wrong category attracting 10% instead of putting it in the right category attracting 45% so that his brother and sister-in-law could benefit.

  11. Importers of that drink were allowed to pay a duty of 10% up to the time the new budget came into force, which I am told is/was July 01, 2008. That document is stamped October, 2007. Someone must really have porridge for brains….

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