Immigration employee suspended from job

(CNS): Government officials have confirmed that a senior member of the immigration department has been suspended from her job as a result of allegations that she has not complied with labour and immigration laws in connection with her own private businesses. Although government has not named the person concerned, CNS can confirm that Kimberley Davis, the director of boards, is under investigation. Davis is responsible for the administration of the department’s various boards, including the Work Permit Board, the Business Staffing Plan Board and the status and residency boards. The Home Affairs Ministry did not reveal any details in an email confirming the investigation at the weekend, as it said the enquiry was still in its early stages.

However, Davis has been on required leave with full pay since early November, when the formal internal investigation began. The Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed it was not involved in the probe into the senior civil servant but Wesley Howell, the deputy chief officer in the premier’s home affairs ministry, said that an investigation into alleged conduct of a staff member of the Immigration Department who have may breached the laws of the Cayman Islands was underway, but he did not state if the police were involved.

“As the matter is at an early investigative stage, the ministry is not at liberty to provide the public with details of the investigation nor is it in a position to state at this time whether any criminal charges will ultimately arise as a result of the investigation,” Howell told CNS via email. “However, the ministry can confirm that a decision was made in the best interest of the civil service, to place the relevant staff member on leave during the course of the investigation, to ensure the smooth running of the services that the Immigration Department provides to the public at large.”

The allegations against Davis are believed to relate to her own permit applications and her compliance with health insurance and pension payments.

The probe comes at a time when the immigration department’s board continues to come under fire for the approval of permits at a time when significant numbers of locals remain unemployed and in circumstances where many believe the boards are not properly scrutinizing the applications and allowing employers to manipulate the system in favour of cheap labour over Caymanian job applicants.