The government says it will not be taking on the debt of any private institution which has failed, nor will it be granting bail-outs. It has committed to financing Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), with close to J$15M monthly, to cover salaries to staff in order to maintain records and facilitate investigations into allegations of fraud at the institution. The expenses incurred by FSC in regards to SSL are being financed by the FSC from its own resources and the Financial Investigations Division (FID) is using the proceeds of assets confiscated under Jamaica’s proceeds of crime legislation to fund the expenses it incurs in the investigation.
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No Bail Out for Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL)
The government says it will not be taking on the debt of any private institution which has failed, nor will it be offering bail outs to failed financial institutions.
The government has committed to financing the beleaguered Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), with close to J$15M monthly, to cover salaries to staff in order to maintain records and facilitate the ongoing investigations into allegations of fraud at the financial institution.
The Ministry of Finance noted that expenses incurred by FSC in regards to SSL are being financed by the FSC from its own resources. The FSC is self-financing and has $1.8 billion in reserves. The Ministry underscored that FSC does not receive tax revenues and nor resources from the Consolidated Fund.
The Ministry of Finance, in a statement issued, informed that Financial Investigations Division (FID), which is conducting the investigation, is using the proceeds of assets confiscated under Jamaica’s proceeds of crime legislation to fund the extraordinary expenses it incurs in the SSL fraud investigation.
“These funds arise from the FID’s work in identifying, restraining, forfeiting and monetising the proceeds of crime. That is, these funds arise from the confiscation of ill-gotten gains,” the statement said.
A special investigator was appointed who has since advised that the ongoing investigation is at an advanced stage.
“SSL still has custody of approximately $30 billion in client funds across 8,000 client accounts. This has been necessary to facilitate the investigation. Retention of some of SSL’s staff complement, along with the maintenance of custody of client funds for the time being, have, for example, allowed investigators to eventually determine that the scope of fraudulent activities has affected 70 accounts, up from the 40 first suspected, an increase of 75%,” the statement continued.
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness has said that based on the advanced nature of the investigation, he anticipates that the support will be in the short term, possibly for two or three months.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) took over the operations of Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) in January with Kenneth Tomlinson acting as the temporary manager.
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke, during his 2023-2024 Budget Debate presentation in March this year, informed that United Kingdom-based Kroll Associates, who will provide forensic audit investigative services in the matter, will support the FID to assist in bringing co-conspirators and accomplices to justice.
