A St Andrew Wholesaler is to pay over some 6 million dollars after the Supreme Court granted the Financial Investigations Division a Pecuniary Penalty Order in March. The matter has been in the courts since 2017 when the Chinese businessman Chee Chung was found in breach of the Pharmacy Act for selling products without proper authorization.
Chung has been facing charges in relation to breaches of the Act since 2017 when the authorities clamped down on his business. At the time it was said he was selling bleaching products that required a medical doctor’s approval for use based on certain chemicals found in them. On October 5, 2018, Chung was convicted in the corporate area parish court for breaches of the Pharmacy Act. A verdict of not guilty was returned on the charges related to breaches of the Customs Act and the Food & Drugs Act.
The Financial Investigations Division (FID) successfully made an application that same day, to the Supreme Court for Mr. Chung to be committed for consideration of a forfeiture or pecuniary penalty order pursuant to section 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act. That order was granted on March 23 this year permitting Chung to in short order pay over 6.4 million dollars. FID’s Principal Director of Investigations Keith Darien is assuring no profit enjoyed from illicit activity will be overlooked under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).
