Two Thursdays ago when embattled head of Olint TCI, David Smith, promised to give me the 'Full Hundred' on Olint, I allowed my most optimistic side to cling to the tenuous hope that he would indeed do so. 'Full Hundred' is, of course, street slang for the obvious: giving the full story with no fanciful promises and skilfully crafted embellishments.

In that telephone conversation we had (he called three times in 15 minutes) he sounded like a man ready to unload, either because the times demanded it or because the goal posts could not be moved any further away from the field of play.

Wanting to give the highly anxious and super-stressed-out Olint investors something more than a nebulous nine months for the gestation and rebirth of Olint, I told him then that I was in the position of so many people - forced to speculate because of a lack of information. I told him that I could not write a full page of 'nothings'.

SMITH. asked investors to give him nine months

My objective then was to have a face-to-face with him. "I will get back to you, Mark, and give you the 'full hundred'," he said.
"Should I tell the readers that?" I asked. He agreed, but went further. "The paper is going to sell off." Even though the times called for tears, I exploded in laughter, not so much to mock those who have begun to crowd private hospitals due to increased and unrelenting stress, but to encourage him to live up to his promise.

A short while later, I realised that a face-to-face in Turks and Caicos was not in the making so I dispatched to him, through a third party, 16 questions, when what I really wanted to ask was 100 more. That Smith has failed to live up to his promises to me will not, of course, endear him to those who even now are allowing a deeper and more painful reality to sink in.

At this time, to those people, Smith is on their 'most wanted' list.
Many of those who worked for him have departed, so direct contact with him was the best way to gather information on Olint. The fact that he made the link with me, issued a promise, then failed to show, has left me in a position to naturally conclude that Smith has either taken professional advice to shut his damn mouth or, at the very time of our telephone conversation, the 'full hundred' promised was just his way of knee-jerking himself to the next day.

In his last letter to club members he asked them to give him nine months. To do what? Recover their money? Recover a part of the funds? Or, as many are saying, he was giving himself nine months' breathing space?

The fact is, telling investors to give him nine months begs the obvious questions. What will Olint/Smith be able to do for investors nine months down the road that he is not able to do for them now? How likely is it that he will ever be allowed to trade again?

In his interview with ace journalist Cliff Hughes, mention was made of an e-mail he had reportedly sent to his wife admitting that he/Olint was bankrupt, busted, gone kaput. I criticised that at the time, even as one sensed that Smith was wavering between travelling the formal, legal route and cleansing his soul by a frank and full disclosure of the financial status of Olint.

In that interview with Hughes, he said, "I pray to God that the funds will be released by Friday." Which funds, Mr Smith? Which Friday, Mr David Smith?

The Olint fall from grace, to promises, to pain

In November 2007 when the Olint Foundation was launched, Jared Martinez, head of Market Traders Institute (MTI) and the man who is known as FXChief, described the founders of Olint as "ordinary people doing extraordinary things".

Something has since soured in that relationship between Olint and MTI. An MTI ad in the July 27 edition of the Sunday Gleaner begins:

"There is nothing crueler than a violation of one's personal trust or an abuse of someone's loyalty. Many Jamaicans have joined various FOREX Investment Clubs to help them take advantage of the money than can be made trading currencies. Unfortunately, it has been many Jamaicans that have been taken advantage of.

"Given the recent rash of FOREX Trading schemes, scams and scandals, MTI is working to help educate the people of Jamaica on the FOREX while Jamaicans take greater steps to educate themselves and avoid becoming victims of any more scams. The FOREX itself is not a scam or a scheme. Without a true education about the FOREX, people can be taken advantage of by some questionable FOREX clubs. At Market Traders Institute, we are not in the business of taking people's money to trade on FOREX. We are in the business of educating people to trade on the FOREX for themselves.

"Market Traders Institute is not a club. We are an institution and we are committed to helping the citizens of Jamaica take control of, and improve their personal finances. MTI is trying to correct the misperceptions that many Jamaicans have about the FOREX. While there is tremendous opportunity for profit trading currencies, without a proper education the potential for losses is just as great."

MTI has therefore drawn some distance between itself and Olint, and probably should be seen as indicative of something radically wrong with Olint.

Was the meeting with big players a sham?

On June 23, a meeting was held with about 35 of the big investors in Olint to outline to them the true position. It must be remembered that some Olint investors were Cabinet ministers in the last PNP Government and current JLP Cabinet members. Some came on board the 'Olint train' in the early days and did well financially.

Then again, if we assume that not all politicians are blessed with knowledge of complex financial matters, investors also included bankers, CEOs of large companies, proprietors of various entities and many other people who simply wanted 'something more'.

In that meeting an April 29 statement indicated that US$735 million was listed as a balance with Oanda, a company that styles itself as 'A leading FOREX dealer and FX Trade platform.' Was the document authentic?

"Based on what has happened now," said one big player to me, "I believe it was just that, a document projected on a screen. A document which, as far as I am concerned, means nothing if David Smith does not come clean."

The reasoning behind the 'big' meeting was obvious. If the big players could be convinced that Olint had some semblance of financial 'possibilities', then word would filter down to lesser investors with a US$20,000 or $30,000 in Olint.

One letter writer has posed the following as the 'big' question for David Smith: "If all of the accounts which are frozen were 'unfrozen' today, what percentage of investors' balances to May 31, 2008 would be realised?"

There are some who believe that at the time in January 2008 when Olint was sponsoring the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, Smith was in Jamaica to pay out US$100 million because of a run on Olint. If that is so, was the festival funded from accumulated profits in Olint or were funds removed from any trading platform to pump into Jazz?

In addition, was there a stage, in January of 2008, when 'interest' was being met out of new entrants' investments?

"I don't care about that now," said one extremely distraught woman to me. She was trembling as we spoke. "I am a sick person, with no husband and no other source of income. As a retired teacher I invested US$50,000 in Olint in 2005. It was my all. To be true, I made money for the bills and the medical expenses, so on that account I praise Smith. My problem is that my illness still remains while I have to be living off friends and family."

She began to cry. "Mark, I am in such a precarious position now that if you even have J$1,000 to offer me now I will take it."
David Smith, my offer still stands, and I am certain you must have your reasons for promising me a fuller interview, like you promised investors changing payout dates. To me, the nine months' promise is just that. Another attempt to buy time.
Time for what?

I waited and waited, Mr Smith. I even decided to use the space allotted me by the Observer to carry only one piece this Sunday. A piece on Olint. As it is, Mr Smith, you have chosen not to call me, not to live up to your promise. But then again, that seems to your new modus operandi. If you were unable to talk because of legal implications you should have told me so.

In the past, those employed to you would be quick off the bat to give me any information I requested, and even some I did not. Now you have chosen to give another promise in the hope of what?

To be further pilloried?

I am still open to hearing from you, David. Make the link, as the matter is urgent. Just ask the head of any hospital in Jamaica. Every sensible investor has a tiny space in the back of his or her mind that loss is possible and likely. In that scenario, the investor deserves nothing less than a full disclosure. Is that too much to ask, David? Look into yourself, then stare at the man in the mirror.
observemark@gmail.com

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