” Where did the money go ? “: the question burns the lips of all Jamaicans and the most famous of them, Usain Bolt, legend of the world sprint, eightfold Olympic gold medalist, victim of a vast financial fraud which would have robbed about forty people in the total. The case moved the entire Caribbean island.
For two weeks, local authorities have been investigating an investment company, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) based in Kingston, supposed to hold funds placed by Bolt, whose account of 12 million dollars (11 million euros) found almost completely empty.
Finance Minister Nigel Clarke said he wanted tough penalties:
“The gap between penalties for white collar crime and other forms of crime must be bridged. If you rob those who entrust their money or if you defraud investors and endanger our financial system, our way of life, Jamaican society wants you to be put in the shade for a long, long time. »
Usain Bolt is one of some forty victims of this fraud, among whom are elderly people who are now penniless. Mr. Clarke said he would ask the FBI and other foreign agencies to help with the investigations, after replacing members of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) board. This organization took over the temporary management of SSL and appointed a special auditor. Jamaican police have raided the home of a former employee of that company and seized documents, but no suspects have yet been charged.
In the turmoil, players in the world of finance hope that confidence in the country’s banking institutions will not be undermined.
“Disgusted population”
For Abka Fitz-Henley, media personality in Jamaica, what is not in doubt, however, is the general disgust inspired by Bolt’s setbacks. “The majority of the population is disgusted by this criminal act, which constitutes an injustice towards a man, perceived as extremely kind, who is, moreover, the most popular living Jamaican in the world. Hopefully he will get his money back. »
Coming from a modest background, born in the parish of Trelawny in northwestern Jamaica, Bolt became a global superstar, having shattered the 100m and 200m world records and dominating the Olympic Games in Beijing, London and Rio. Usain Bolt retired in 2017 after a decade of unchallenged dominance in the men’s sprint.
Bolt said little about the case, but he assured that it will not lead him to abandon his homeland: “No matter what is happening right now, Jamaica is my country, I love it and that will never change. I will always do everything in my power to make it grow. »