JSE suspends trading through investment firm

The issues engulfing brokerage and investment company, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) keep piling up.

The company has found itself in problems with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), which has suspended with immediate effect online trading through the brokerage and investment firm. SSL is now embroiled in a massive fraud scandal, resulting in Jamaican sprint legend being among dozens of clients defrauded of billions of dollars.

The JSE reports that all transactions should be processed by contacting SSL directly. Last month, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) assumed temporary control of SSL after the massive fraud was uncovered.

Last week, the board and management of the beleaguered firm broke its silence on the fraud, claiming that fraud suspect, Jean-Ann Panton asked Usain Bolt’s management team for help with repaying defrauded clients.

In its first detailed statement since the multibillion-dollar fraud was exposed early last month, the SSL board and management said it only learnt that Bolt was among the fraud victims after a member of his team visited their office on January 11 to reveal that Panton had confessed that the athletics icon was among clients she had bilked out of funds.

SSL had earlier, on January 7, received a signed confession, provided by Panton in the presence of her attorney, admitting to defrauding 39 other clients. SSL then notified the FSC on January 10.

The SSL board said it believes that Panton did not initially reveal Bolt was among her victims because “she was aware of the tremendous spotlight which the Bolt name would bring to bear on her activities, and amazingly, she, for whatever reason, and despite having admitted to the Bolt management team Usain Bolt was among her victims, apparently still believed that she could borrow the money from the Bolt management group to repay the other SSL clients”.