GIFF JOHNSON
Marshall Islands Correspondent
MAJURO, Marshall Islands — Bank of Guam Majuro Branch Manager Jackey Salomon was due to appear in the High Court in Majuro the morning of June 4 at a hearing on tax evasion charges he is facing related to a business he was operating in Majuro while managing the bank.
He is charged with three counts of alleged tax evasion. At an initial appearance May 31 before Chief Justice Carl Ingram, Attorney General Richard Hickson and Salomon’s attorney, Jack Jorbon, sought court approval for additional time to review the charges “which may be dropped or amended,” according to Ingram.
The Chief Justice scheduled a follow up hearing for June 4 and also ordered Salomon to turn in both his FSM and Marshall Islands passports, which court staff confirmed he did. Salomon was reportedly preparing to depart to Pohnpei on the upcoming Air Marshall Islands charter flight from Majuro that was originally scheduled for May 31 — but was postponed until next week. The flight will repatriate a number of FSM citizens.
Salomon is currently charged with three counts relating to not paying taxes: Failure to report and pay Social Security contributions, Health Fund contributions, and Gross Revenue Tax for the period October to December 2019. Hickson indicated he is looking at filing additional charges against Salomon, including operating financial services without a license.
The tax evasion charges were filed against Salomon doing business as Global Management Services, for which he opened an account at Bank of Marshall Islands in October 2019 with two checks totaling $131,000 from the Kili-Bikini-Ejit local government.
In the wake of charges against Salomon, another staff member at Bank of Guam’s Majuro branch has been put in charge. Guam-based bank officials declined to confirm if Salomon had been suspended or put on administrative leave, but for now he is not managing the bank.
“As a personnel matter, we are unable to comment on Mr. Salomon’s status,” Jacqueline A. Marati, senior vice president and chief communications and social responsibility officer at Bank of Guam; said. “We continue to place the safety and security of our customers utmost in our daily operations and for now, Mr. LS Lokboj will be responsible for Majuro branch operations.” – This is a developing story, which the Journal will update. mbj
