In their first detailed statement since the multibillion-dollar fraud was exposed early last month, the board and management of Stocks and Securities Limited, who initially intended to work with law enforcement without making public comment, are no seeking to publicly clear the air on what happened when detecting the fraud.

In a statement, the board and management said fraud occurred because the investment firm’s internal protocols were bypassed by former SSL client relationship manager Jean-Ann Panton using doctored client documents, including encashment requests and statements.

The SSL board revealed that, in 2022, it was discovered that Panton had produced a false statement to a client and after investigations with the client, it was confirmed that there was no evidence of cash being stolen in relation to that client. Disciplinary rulings commenced in September 2022 where it was ultimately decided that Panton should be dismissed for negligence and gross incompetence.

On December 20, 2022, another client presented a statement that he said was generated by the former employee that was found to be inaccurate. After an investigation into Panton’s activities, it was agreed that she would provide a confession.

SSL had obtained a statement from the former employee, provided in the presence of her attorney, on January 7, which was then brought to the board of directors on January 9 and then brought to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) on January 10.

The SSL board and management pointed out that, prior to being engaged by a member of sprint legend Usain Bolt’s team on January 11, no current member of the board or manager knew about the existence of Bolt’s account because the account was under the name WellJen Limited and did not have a balance that would flag it as a high-value account.