The legendary Usain Bolt has lost $6 million in a financial scam. (Reuters)
Usain Bolt’s lawyer, Linton Gordon, has fiercely criticized efforts to blame the sprint legend for the loss of his $6 million investment with Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL).
“There now appears to be an organized effort to shift blame onto the Honorable Usain Bolt for his loss—when he is guilty of nothing more than investing in the country that he loves,” said Linton Gordon in a statement on Friday.
“This is a textbook case of victim-blaming, and it appears to be an attempt to absolve the government of its failure to protect the public and those defrauded by SSL.
“Even more concerning is the apparent attempt to silence victims and manipulate the narrative about who is truly responsible for this large-scale fraud, which has left hundreds of Jamaicans without their hard-earned money and no clear path to recovery.”
Linton Gordon refuted any suggestion of negligence on Bolt’s part and instead blamed the Jamaican government for not safeguarding investors against the widespread financial fraud that has shaken the country.
“The allegations being circulated publicly that not all of Usain Bolt’s funds sent to Stocks & Securities Limited were received by the institution are false, baseless, and entirely without credibility,” Gordon said.
“All funds lodged at SSL by Bolt’s company were transferred via bank transactions, and each and every payment was acknowledged by the institution in writing.”
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Gordon also cited court testimony from Ken Tomlinson, the Financial Services Commission (FSC)-appointed temporary manager, as evidence supporting his claim. Tomlinson testified last year that Bolt’s initial $6.2 million investment was confirmed as fraudulently removed from SSL’s account. Bolt stated that his account statements, up until late 2022, showed a total investment of $12.7 million.
“The notion that Bolt was negligent in making these deposits is entirely unfounded,” he said.
“The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Government of Jamaica, and hundreds of Jamaican citizens invested in SSL—an institution that was approved and regulated by the government.
“To suggest that Bolt was careless or lacked proper financial management is to imply the same about every Jamaican who has invested in a government-approved financial institution.”
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Earlier this week, Bolt expressed his frustration over the sluggish pace of the investigation while appearing on the popular podcast ‘The Fix.’
“I am beyond frustrated,” Bolt said. “I believe the government can do more to assist me in getting my money back.”
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