Usain Bolt 'as confused as public' over missing money
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt told reporters Friday that he is baffled by the fact that $12.7 m of his money has gone missing from a local private investment firm that authorities are investigating as part of a massive fraud that began more than a decade ago.
Bolt said he had fired his business manager, adding that it was not an amicable split.
When asked if he was broken, the retired star athlete laughed.
He said that I was not broke, but it definitely put a damper on me. I have three kids. Everyone knows that. I still want to live very well, and I am still looking out for my parents. Bolt's attorneys have said that the athlete's account with Kingston-based Stocks and Securities Limited dwindled from nearly $12.8 m to some $12,000. They had given the company until Friday to return the money or face civil and criminal action.
It was not immediately clear if any action had been taken as of late Friday. Attorney Linton P Gordon did not return a message seeking comment.
He told the Jamaica Observer newspaper that the public should anticipate the unexpected and the expected in the case.
He was quoted as saying that there was nothing to say at this stage, given what is happening. We have met with people and we are dealing with certain matters. The director of the Financial Services Commission was stepping down earlier this week and the Bank of Jamaica would now be in charge of regulating the island's financial system, according to the Jamaican finance minister Nigel Clarke.
He said several government agencies and elderly customers were also affected by the alleged fraud.
It is always a sad situation. Bolt said of the elderly who were affected. I am as confused as the public. Jamaican authorities have asked for help from the FBI and other unidentified international experts, adding that clients were given false statements regarding their balances as part of the alleged fraud. The number of clients affected and how much money is missing are not yet known, according to officials.
Bolt spoke about the alleged fraud at a sponsored luncheon for an upcoming relay earlier on Friday.
He said that he would continue to do everything he can to uplift his island after going through a tough week, a few tough weeks.
Jamaica is my country no matter what is going on right now. That will never change, he said.
He said in an aside to reporters: "I m just trying to focus on my family and trying not to think too much about it because it is a difficult situation." Stocks and Securities Limited did not return a message seeking comment Friday. The company called authorities earlier this month to alert them that a manager had apparently committed fraud.
Earlier this week, Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness announced that his administration would not bail out the company.
He said that the government will not socialize any debt, and we will not socialize the failure of our banks.