OMAR Shariff, the embattled former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency, has filed court documents against local journalist Travis Chase and the operators of the HGPTV television station, claiming damages to the tune of G$20M.Shariff is under investigation by the authorities after allegedly billions of dollars were reportedly discovered in multiple bank accounts connected to him. He has sued the journalist and the television station over statements made on the HGPTV Nightly News television broadcast as well as news content broadcast on the newscast’s social media platforms.

The Ministry of the Presidency was, over the past several weeks, expected to submit information to police investigators on the case of Shariff, who was arrested after some $10B were allegedly uncovered in his personal bank accounts. He was later released on bail in relation to investigations into tax evasion and money laundering.

Reports suggest that Shariff’s accounts could have way more than the indicated $10B, a position on which Minister of State Joseph Harmon has offered not to comment.

In a letter to Shariff dated June 30, 2016, Minister Harmon told him to proceed on his annual leave so that he could cooperate fully with the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) during the investigation. The investigation concerns his alleged extraordinary accumulation of wealth, which includes several properties and billions of dollars in commercial banks.

This newspaper had reported that SOCU visited the former permanent secretary’s home and removed documents and a safe. The State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) is also on the case.