The Government of Grenada says it is closely monitoring a development in which an undisclosed number of Grenadians appeared to have lost millions of dollars in a troubled United States currency scheme linked to the investment club Olint.
Depositors of a local financial institution, SGL Holdings, have been complaining that interests on their investments have not been paid for the past two months and requests for reimbursements have not been honoured.
SGL Holdings said the present 'challenges' being experienced emanate from difficulties facing its trader, Olint TCI, located in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Olint TCI, owned by Jamaican David Smith, has had its assets frozen pending an investigation into its operations and a letter from SGL Holdings informs customers that TCI plans to resume payments within nine months.
Jamaican investors in Olint have also been given a nine-month time frame for receiving their monies."Efforts are being made to ascertain from the authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands the status of the investigations," said a statement from the new Tillman Thomas Government.
"The Ministry of Finance continues to monitor the situation and will be in contact with the ECSRC (Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission) as the official regulator for collective investment schemes," it added.
SGL has neither disclosed the exact number of Grenadians affected nor the amount of money involved but, in its letter to customers, the company also blamed the lapse in payments on "some questionable accounting errors".
Said the statement: "Due to the ongoing scrutiny and processes, not to mention a recent investigation against our trader, our business has been impacted to a degree that has caused unforeseen delays in providing you, our customers with the distribution of your gains and encashment.
"Additionally, it has come to our attention that there have been some questionable accounting errors noted by the trader's account payable and record keeping system, which has also contributed to the lapse in payment", it added.
Local attorney Anslem Clouden has threatened to file a claim on behalf of a client seeking to freeze the accounts of SGL Holdings.
Clouden said he would be suing the company for in excess of US$90,000 plus damages.
"My client deposited with SGL US$90,000 and I am instructed to retrieve those monies. They were unable to give him an affirmative word on when he can retrieve his money," Clouden told reporters."If it means I have to fly to the Turks and Caicos Islands to take an action there, then I am prepared to do that," he said.
This latest controversy follows the collapse of two banking institutions in recent times - the locally owned Capital Bank International (CBI) and the offshore bank First International Bank of Grenada (FIBG) in which North American depositors lost million of dollars.
First Bank is believed to have pumped millions of dollars in 1999 into the coffers of the then ruling New National Party (NNP) to help then Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell to his historic 15-0 drubbing of the opposition in general elections.
