Alleged fraudster Usain Bolt asked him for a loan to repay the victims

The Jamaican finance firm, which was at the center of a embezzlement scandal involving Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, blamed a single employee who the company said had also defrauded 39 other customers and even sought a loan from Bolt’s management team to get her to cover up plans.

Stocks & Securities Ltd. said in an emailed statement that Bolt’s management approached the company on Jan. 11 to report that an SSL employee went to their office and confessed that she forged statements and the money stole from her customer. According to SSL, she also allegedly applied for a loan to repay other victims, although the employee was not identified.

Despite the admission, “apparently she still believed she could borrow the money from the Bolt management group to pay off the other SSL customers,” the Kingston-based firm said. SSL said a company disciplinary committee recommended the employee be fired for “negligence and gross incompetence.”

Last month, Bolt’s attorneys said their client was more than $12 million ($17 million) missing from his account. SSL said it was still evaluating its overall losses, but said that “the vast majority of customers were not affected by fraud.” The company’s insurance policy includes coverage for employee dishonesty and counterfeiting with coverage of up to $1 million, and efforts are also being made to oblige the employee to make amends, SSL said.

Loading

The scandal has rocked Jamaica, prompting the government to appoint Bank of Jamaica Governor Richard Byles to head the Financial Securities Commission, the organization that oversees non-banks like SSL.

An eight-time Olympic gold medalist, Bolt is one of the most recognizable sports icons in the world and his involvement in the case made headlines around the world.

“The events that have occurred have had tremendous adverse consequences for the customers affected and for SSL’s hard-working employees,” the company said. “The former employee’s dishonesty has led to the most widely publicized news event from Jamaica in recent years.”

Bloomberg