Trinidad: Officer who stole $1.9 million in tax, granted bail at $1.5 million

Senior Public Officer Charged with Stealing $1.49 Million in Tax Revenues in Trinidad and Tobago was granted bail at a massive $1.5 million.

Hailing from Chaguanas, Lystra Irving, 42, was presented before the Justice of the Peace and charged with misappropriation of TT$1.49 million in cash, belonging to the State.

She was also charged with misbehaviour in public office, involving the falsification of Government records and multiple counts of money laundering.

Irving was granted bail with a surety and ordered to appear at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court on January 11th 2022.

In January 2021, senior auditors at the IRD detected several discrepancies with the accounting entries made by a senior public officer. They realised that a certain amount of tax revenue received from the public could not be accounted for.

A report on the discrepancies was made to the Fraud Squad in February 2021, and a team of officers, led by Insp. Samuel of the Fraud Squad conducted a thorough forensic investigation into the matter. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021.

Irving was charged with the offences on Thursday, December 2nd, 2021, following advice received from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard SC, on that same date.