JMMB Group issues statement amid fraud fears

For the past few weeks, the financial sector has been gripped by a series of alleged monetary crimes with investigations at Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) the latest and most prominent of the lot.

The SSL has been rocked by a US dollar multi-million fraud scheme inside its operations with sprint legend Usain Bolt among those hardest hit. Bolt, through his attorneys, has since given the SSL a 10-day ultimatum to return just under US$12 million missing from his account.

Investigations are also ongoing at the National Commercial Bank and Sagicor Bank Jamaica after allegations of embezzlement amounting to hundreds of millions of Jamaican dollars were uncovered.

This has led to an increase level of public distrust in the local financial sector as investors at every level are jittery about their savings held in the care of these licensed institutions.

While the head of some of these institutions have spoken publicly, albeit briefly, allaying fears, the JMMB Group has taken a step further by issuing a statement to reassure investors and the public in general that they “are standing for your best interest” and that “protecting your funds is our top priority”.

In a lengthy statement under the signature of its CEO Keith Duncan, the JMMB Group said it understands the concerns some investors have in the current climate.

“We would love to take this opportunity to share with you some information about the controls that we already had in place to help protect your savings and investments; as well as the steps you can take to have your questions and concerns answered.

“Because acts of fraud are a reality in any modern-day business, we have in place all the necessary internal and external controls to help detect and mitigate against the risk of various types of fraud and to arrest it swiftly should it arise. Protecting your deposits and investments is our top priority.

“JMMB Group Limited is a publicly-held company that complies with all of the rules of the Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago stock exchanges. Our financial statements, which are published every calendar quarter, are available for viewing on the websites of those stock exchanges.

“Furthermore, we have received a high creditworthiness rating by the Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS), and remain adequately capitalized and in adherence to the rigorous protocols that have been set out by all the regulatory oversight bodies to which we answer, including the Bank of Jamaica and the Financial Services Commission.

“We are saddened by this occurrence within our industry and as a part of the industry association, we will work to strengthen the mechanisms to support our industry to better detect and mitigate fraud.”

As one of the top financial firms in the region, the JMMB Group provides a broad range of financial solutions including: investments; banking; remittances; and insurance brokering, to individual, corporate and institutional clients.