A supervisor attached to the Inland Revenue Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance is granted bail in the sum of $1.5 million dollars.

Lystra Irving, 42, a senior public officer from Chaguanas, is charged for misbehaviour in public office involving the falsification of Government records and multiple counts of money laundering.

It is being alleged that she misappropriated $1.49 million belonging to the State.

Irving appeared before JP Abrahim Ali, on Thursday and was granted the bail with a surety and ordered to appear at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on January 11, 2022.

It is being alleged that in January 2021, senior auditors at the IRD detected several discrepancies with the accounting entries made by a senior public officer and 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 Inspector Samuel of the Fraud Squad, conducted a forensic investigation into the matter. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday.

Irving was charged with the offences on Thursday following advice received from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard SC.