Home  News Regional News Troubled US currency scheme
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Troubled US currency scheme |
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Saturday, 02 August 2008 |
ST GEORGE’S - The Grenada government says it is closely monitoring a development in which an undisclosed number of Grenadians appeared to have lost millions of dollars in a troubled U.S. currency scheme, linked to investment club, Olint.
Depositors of a local financial institution, SGL Holdings, have been complaining that interests on their investments have not been paid for the past two months and requests for reimbursements have not been honored.
SGL Holdings said the present "challenges" being experienced emanate from difficulties facing its trader, Olint TCI, located in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Olint TCI, owned by Jamaican David Smith, has had its assets frozen pending an investigation into its operations and a letter from SGL Holdings informs customers that TCI plans to resume payments within nine months. Jamaican investors in Olint have also been given a nine-month timeframe for receiving their monies.
"Efforts are being made to ascertain from the authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands the status of the investigations," said the government statement. "The Ministry of Finance continues to monitor the situation and will be in contact with the ECSRC (Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission) as the official regulator for collective investment schemes".
SGL has neither disclosed the exact number of Grenadians affected nor the amount of money involved but, in its letter to customers, the company also blamed the lapse in payments, on "some questionable accounting errors".
"Due to the ongoing scrutiny and processes, not to mention a recent investigation against our trader, our business has been impacted to a degree that has caused unforeseen delays in providing you, our customers with the distribution of your gains and/ encashment," said the letter.
"Additionally, it has come to our attention that there have been some questionable accounting errors noted by the trader’s account payable and record keeping system, which has also contributed to the lapse in payment".
Local attorney Anslem Clouden will on Monday file a claim on behalf of a client seeking to freeze the accounts of SGL holdings. Clouden said he will be suing the company for in excess of US$90,000 plus damages.
"My client deposited with SGL US$90,000 and I am instructed to retrieve those monies. They were unable to give him an affirmative word on when he can retrieve his money," Clouden told reporters.
"If it means I have to fly to the Turks and Caicos Islands to take an action there then I am prepared to do that".
This latest controversy follows the collapse of two banking institutions in recent times -the locally owned Capital Bank International (CBI) and the offshore bank First International Bank of Grenada (FIBG) in which North American depositors lost million of dollars.
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