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Jamaican Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, has gone missing $12 million (about Rs 98 crore) from an account held by Kingston-based investment firm Stocks & Securities, his lawyer said in a report. Bolt’s lawyer Linton P. Gordon said that only about $ 12,000 i.e. only about Rs 9.8 lakh is left in Bolt’s account. A Fortune report said that Bolt had his retirement amount and accumulated capital in his account. Gordon said on Wednesday, “Anyone would be distressed by this news. This is even more true in Bolt’s case because he had made this account a part of his private pension.
Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission announced on Tuesday that it had installed its temporary manager at SSL following reports of fraud allegations that had previously prompted the commission to put the bank under investigation.
So how did this happen?
Investigation is going on in a private investment firm in Jamaica and the government’s operation is being criticized due to this matter. One of the biggest fraud scandals on the Caribbean island has forced a top official to resign.
According to a report in the Associated Press, Everton McFarlane, who was recently the executive director of Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission, went on leave on Friday and will step down on January 31.
A top Bank of Jamaica official will replace him as the investigation into Stocks & Securities Ltd, a firm based in the capital city of Kingston, continues.
Finance Minister Nigel Clarke said late on Thursday, “There will be full transparency.” He said, “No stone will be left unturned to find out how exactly this theft took place, who benefitted from such theft and who facilitated it.”
An investigation began after Stocks and Securities Ltd sent a letter to the authorities on 10 January warning them that a manager had apparently committed fraud. A few days later, Bolt’s lawyers said that the balance in his account had been reduced from about $12.8 million to $12,000.
Many elders also became victims of fraud
Clarke said that preliminary investigation has found that several elderly customers have also been defrauded. He said that the officials are trying to find out whether any kind of shopping has been done from the alleged fraud amount or not and the government will try to seize it completely. “We sympathize with all the investors affected by this,” he said.
The Financial Services Commission of Jamaica regulates financial companies including Stocks and Securities Limited. Now many people are questioning why this type of fraud was not caught earlier.
When a local reporter asked McFarlane at a recent news conference whether the agency he leads lacks oversight, he declined to answer, saying, “I’ll take another question.” “
Earlier this week, McFarlane said the agency acted immediately upon learning of the alleged fraud. On 12 January, the commission banned the company from conducting any transactions without its approval, and has since appointed a temporary manager to oversee the company’s daily operations.
Stocks and Securities Limited posted a statement on its website stating that clients should address all urgent queries directly to the Financial Services Commission.
Bolt’s lawyers have said that if his money is not returned by the end of next week, he will take civil and criminal action.
Who is Usain Bolt?
Usain Bolt is an Olympic veteran who was born on August 21, 1986. He is known as The Fastest Man Alive and he is from Jamaica. He is a 9-time Olympic Gold Medalist, 11-time World Champion, 6-time IAAF World Athlete of the Year and 4-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. He is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He holds world records in 100 m (9.58 sec), 200 m (19.19 sec) and 4×100 m relay (36.84 sec). He is the only athlete in history to win four world championships in the 200 m dash.
Usain Bolt set a world record by completing the men’s 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. In the same year, he set another world record by completing the men’s 200 meters race in 19.19 seconds.
He also became the youngest member of the “Order of Jamaica” in 2009. Bolt has been named “Laureus World Sportsman of the Year” thrice in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
He has been named “IAAF World Athlete of the Year” six times, in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2016, and is the only athlete to win three consecutive gold medals in the 100 meters at the Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Although Bolt has not said anything publicly about this scam, but has made some social media posts pointing towards it.
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Tags: Banking fraud, fraud case, Usain Bolt
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 22, 2023, 20:47 IST
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