Investors in the non-formal Jamaican financial market are facing a new crisis with news that a joint team of United States and Turks and Caicos law enforcement officers raided the offices Olint Corporation, the multibillion-dollar investment club there on Tuesday.

According to reports out of Jamaica, where the largest numbers of Olint’s investors reside, the Olint offices in Miami, Florida, were also ordered closed by the US authorities. The reports also stated that computers and files were removed from both locations; documents belonging to Olint principal, David Smith, were removed from his home and Smith’s assets frozen by Turks and Caicos authorities.

Unconfirmed reports from Jamaica said that the staff at Olint’s offices in Kingston was threatened, and as a result the offices have been closed until further notice.

Rumors have been circulating both in Jamaica and here in South Florida, where a number of Olint investors also reside, over the past few weeks that Olint was experiencing problems, and may not be able to make interest payments to investors. According to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), “local financial analyst Errol Gregory is predicting that the problems facing Olint will have repercussions for the Jamaican economy.  

“With reports that Jamaicans have invested more than US$600 million in the scheme, he said any fallout would have a domino effect on the country especially in the aftermath of the recent collapse of alternative investment scheme Cash Plus.” 



Sources claim that Olint’s recent problems started two weeks ago when it sought to wire US$200 million through a prominent Jamaican bank, but that bank reported the suspicious activity to the authorities which sparked an investigation.

Broward resident Jason Riggs, who has invested in Olint, feels confident that he will get his money back. He told the National Weekly, that the amount he has in the scheme is negligible and would not be a cause for concern. However, he said he knows people who have as much as US $2 million invested and are very depressed at the looming possibility of losing it all. One of the main concerns he said is that many of the investors borrowed money to invest and are would now be faced with paying back that money with interest.

Olint has been facing legal problems since November 2006 when Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) served a cease-and-desist order on the company, which was extended to March last year. The company was ordered not to increase its membership until an appeal filed by Smith was heard.

In December 2006 the Jamaican Supreme Court ruled that the operations of Olint, a foreign exchange investment company, were in breach of the Securities Act and were issuing investment contracts and providing advice to potential investors without the required licenses and registration.

While the company awaited the decision of the court, Olint carried its operations off-shore in the Turks and Caicos, outside the immediate jurisdiction of the Jamaican authorities.

Although investors in Jamaica and overseas are expressing concerns about the state of their investments with the company, there are no indications that these investors will lose their investments.

It is understood that Olint attracted investments from several members of the Jamaican middle and upper classes. The news of the recent actions against Smith is of concern to investors as it follows the collapse of Cash Plus, which had hundreds of investors – mainly working class people.

The director of Cash Plus, Carlos Hill was also arrested by Jamaican police and is currently out on bail.
Smith has not been arrested is free to travel and is under no restriction to cease operating his companies in the Turks and Caicos Islands.