AAJ board dissolved over First Rock investment scandal

Jovan Johnson, Senior Staff Reporter

The board of the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) has been dissolved over the First Rock investment scandal.

Transport and Mining Minister Robert Montague made the announcement in Parliament a short while ago as he made his first substantive comment on the scandal involving a $450 million stock purchase in the St Lucia-registered firm.

According to Montague, most members of the AAJ board and its subsidiary NMIA Limited, have already offered their resignations and he has “every intention” of accepting them. 

In July, after The Sunday Gleaner first reported on the issue, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke revealed in Parliament that the entities broke the law in their first of two investments because they did not get his ministry's permission.  

READ: Clarke says investment not in accordance with regulations

Additional reporting showed that the AAJ board disregarded a recommendation not to invest in First Rock Capital Holdings because the company had a limited financial and operational history.  

First Rock started operations in March 2019, a month after the initial investment was made.

The second investment took place in January 2020.  

Montague confirmed that Fay Hutchinson, the AAJ board chairperson, did not declare that she bought personal shares in First Rock in 2019.

He also said she did not declare that she had joined the board of directors of First Rock after the second investment in January 2020.  

READ: Hutchinson held shareholdership and directorship of First Rock 

The AAJ and NMIAL, together bought US$3 million worth of stocks in First Rock, now valued at approximately J$450 million. 

Current AAJ board members who were involved in at least one of the First Rock investments are Hutchinson, Denton Campbell and Epsi Cooper-Morgan. 

Pauline Bowla who joined the board after the first investment, abstained in the vote on second investment. 

Current NMIAL board members who were involved in at least one of the investments are: Donna Reid, Leroy Lindsay, and Thomas Chin. 

Current AAJ Board Members:  
Fay Hutchinson - Chair 
Denton Campbell 
Pauline Bowla 
Epsi Cooper-Morgan  
Natalee Mirander 
Clifford Blake 
Ian Deer 
Ricardo Lynch 
Canute Sadler 

NMIAL Board 
Canute Sadler – Chair 
Arielle Brown 
Jinelle Jones 
Donna Reid 
Ronique Rhoden 
Thomas Chin 
Leroy Lindsay  
Egwugwu Preistly  
Lloyd Waller  

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mrs Fay Hutchinson has filed a lawsuit against The Gleaner Company Media Limited alleging that previous articles defamed her. Those issues have not been ventilated in this piece.

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