Not true...PNP hits back at Fitz-Henley on SSL

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has dismissed claims by Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Senator Abka Fitz-Henley that it did not protect investors at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL).

Fitz-Henley, speaking at a party rally, charged that the PNP failed investors.

“What dem nah tell you that in 2013 when Peter Phillips was finance minister and the PNP was in control of this county, the FSC (Financial Services Commission) warned them and tell that entity to suspend a critical part of their operation. And Peter Phillips and the PNP administration took no action to defend the investors of Jamaica in that entity,” he asserted.

Hitting back, PNP Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, says his claims are false.

“Under the PNP government in 2013, then-Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips and the FSC took immediate action, issuing a directive requiring SSL to suspend critical activities due to breaches of the Securities Act (Jamaica Gleaner, February 1, 2023).

“In contrast, the JLP administration, in 2017, discontinued proceedings to suspend SSL’s license after the entity claimed compliance. The FSC lifted the 2013 restrictions based on SSL’s representations, as confirmed by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke (Jamaica Gleaner, January 23, 2023). This decision occurred under the JLP’s watch, and the massive fraud at SSL, uncovered in 2023, followed this lifting of restrictions,” said Robinson in a media statement today.

Robinson argued that the “reckless” remarks made by Fitz-Henley are an insult to the Jamaican people.

“The PNP acted decisively in 2013 to protect investors, while the JLP administration chose to trust SSL’s false assurances in 2017, paving the way for this catastrophic fraud. The Holness administration must answer why it lifted restrictions on SSL without proper verification, leaving Jamaicans vulnerable.”

The PNP is calling for transparency and accountability in the SSL matter, asking if the Kroll Report has been released, even to the court-appointed liquidator to assist him in tracking down the assets of the insolvent SSL?

“If not, we are urging the immediate release of the Kroll Report, a forensic audit of SSL covering 2010 to 2023. This report is critical to understanding the full scope of the fraud and the failures in oversight that allowed it to occur.

“The public has a right to know the truth,” Robinson emphasised.

“The Holness administration must stop hiding behind excuses and release the Kroll Report without further delay.”

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