Dancehall deejay Beenie Man, who is now wanted by local authorities for not turning up for a tax evasion case, is planning to turn himself in to the authorities when he returns to the island today.
Resident Magistrate Owen Parkins yesterday issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of the deejay, born Moses Davis, after he failed to appear in the Civil Division of the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.
The deejay was booked to appear to answer to charges of tax evasion. The deejay reportedly owes $29,290,116 in back taxes and $18,641,254 in penalties, bringing the total amount owed to a whopping $47,931,371.
RM Parkins, clearly upset by Beenie Man's failure to honour yesterday's court date, said, "No one is above the law, not even me." He also wondered out aloud about how the deejay could have missed a court date that was publicly mentioned on television and radio.
When THE STAR contacted Beenie Man, however, he explained that he was in New York shooting a music video with Barbee for their Paddy Cake single.
"Mi did have court today (yesterday) but mi did a shoot a video an mi reach in late, an mi end up wake up late, suh mi miss di flight. Suh a mi lawyer mi did a count on fi guh represent mi but mi nuh know wah happen ...," Beenie told The STAR.
The deejay, who is also in the middle of a court drama with estranged wife D'Angel, said that he had not been aware of his 'wanted' status until The STAR contacted him. "Mi a try get mi lawyer, mi a try get Blue (his brother and road manager) an mi cyan get nobody fi tell mi what a gwaan," Beenie said.
As it relates to the millions he is alleged to owe, Beenie says that his former manager and business partner, Patrick Roberts, had been responsible for his finances.
"Dem (Government) sey mi owe dem from 'bout 1997-2002 an dah time deh mi deh a Shocking Vibes an Patrick Roberts is di man weh responsible fi everything. Him collect all a mi money, suh if mi need a car mi tell him wah model an him deal wid it, if mi want a house, mi tell him which part mi waan fi live an him guh buy it," Beenie said.
Patrick's responsibility
He also added, "Suh personal tax an' dem ting deh him (Patrick) suppose fi deal wid. Suh, when me leave Shocking Vibes, mi leave wid mi two long hand dem an' mi talent. Ah just my personal money and resources mi leave wid. Suh every contract, show, tour mi do Shocking Vibes use to deal wid dem."
Beenie says all this time he thought that all his bills were being taken care of, but he was wrong.
"Mi deal wid dem 22 years, an' mi cyan believe dem lef' mi inna suh much debt ...," the deejay said.
Since his tax problems manifested, Beenie says he hasn't attempted to speak to Patrick Roberts to get an explanation, but he says his lawyer and accountant are dealing with the matter.
"Mi nuh talk to Patrick since di tax ting, cause mi only hear bout it since di court date come up. Me wouldn't know sey my tax nuh pay. Memba sey mi bring in a Hummer, mi Benz, all a mi vehicle dem a nuh Jamaica mi buy dem and in order fi mi clear dem mi nuh muss haffi a pay mi tax dem?" Beenie questioned.
The deejay says that he is now wondering what else can go wrong. "Is like dem set dis ting yah pon mi, it come in like a chain reaction, when dis sort out, a nex ting a guh come. Mi nuh know a wah dis it come in like sey mi shouldn't did come out a dah crash deh inna di Humma an every ting jus done deh suh," Beenie said.
When contacted, Roberts, Beenie's former manager and CEO of Shocking Vibes, said that there is an obvious attempt to smear the artiste's career.
"The bottom line is that I remember paying quite a sum in February of last year, then came a ridiculous assessment. I wrote on behalf of the artiste to the Inland Revenue and when I wasn't getting anywhere with them, I then wrote to the Ministry of Finance for their intervention," Roberts said.
He continued, "We got back a letter immediately from them (M.O.F) indicating that they acknowledge the letter and the content and they need time to apprise themselves of the case, but in the meantime they would ask the Inland Revenue not to take any action against the artiste until they hear from them."
So now, Roberts says that he can't understand why they are facing these tax woes.
"I want to find out what is happening. Someone is trying to smear the artiste's character and at the same time we cannot pay what we don't earn. You cannot stay around a desk in an office and assess the music industry. The artiste is about hype and doing and saying things to keep them in the limelight and you cannot base assessment on this hype, the assessment is just ridiculous," he said.
Roberts says, "Beenie Man has never sold gold, he has only gone on interviews and said so and it is based upon utterances like those that these people are making such an assessment."
He, however, said, "What is due to the inland, I am willing to pass it over to them, but I will not pay for what was not earned."
yo, D man did deh a him video shoot, jus bcuz because beenie an Patrick a 100% PNP, an we under labourite government now, but D king ago sort out him ting still, 47 mill ja. ano nuttin fi him neither, but no man wouldnt want to giv up such funds if them dont hav to still, so jus sort out u thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwoy Me naw go lie him shoulda just dead inna de Hummer crash fi real....me nuh rate him innuh but this bredda yah saaalllttt!!!....this nigga in deep s**t me nuh kno how him aggo find da money yah....him ago end up bak pon de road side...LOL kabbooom
if beenie did dead inna d crash dancehall woulda flop, bcuz d girl dem woulda depressed an dancehall cant survive unless d girl dem happy an a bruk out