In a summary of controversial payments made to Joey Ebanks, the former managing director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), there seems to be a host of question marks revealed ranging from unjustified expense claims, forged signatures, travel expenses not accounted for and unsupported cheque payments to him totalling over $15,000 over a three month period.

The Cayman Islands Auditor General, Alastair Swarbrick, uncovered these controversial payments and reported them to the Board of the Directors of the ERA on Thursday 28^th February, 2013. Subsequently, HE Governor Duncan Taylor suspended Ebanks and relieved him of all duties related to his position in the organisation.

Ebanks was arrested on March 5^th by Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) officers from the Financial Crimes Unit at his home in Pedro. He was charged on suspicion of, Abuse of Office, Theft and Suspicion of Possession of a drug utensil and released on bail.

The total amount of controversial payments total over $120,000 including advanced salary payments, and nearly $68,000 spent in the Cayman Mac store. ERA account cheques were either signed by Ebanks, ERA board member Mike Herland, or by both men. $6,000 has also a question mark flagged as they are from cheques that could have forged signatures.

Ebanks is standing for election in North Sound and has made accusations of corruption against the incumbent MLA Ezzard Miller as well as Governor Duncan Taylor and the chairman of the Judicial Legal Services Commissions via his Facebook account.

He has also claimed the award made to Dart Group’s general contractor, DECCO, was wrong even though he was at the time the Managing Director of ERA who awarded the contract to them to generate 36MW of future power. He alleges he was asked to fix the bid as a result of a typographical error. Because of his allegations the ERA have ordered an investigation into the tendering procedures that resulted in DECCO being awarded the contract.