The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is recommending that Jamaica close all unregulated investment schemes, saying that they jeopardise the island's otherwise sound financial sector.

Citing statistics from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), the IMF's June country report identified 35 unregulated schemes operating in Jamaica.

"Unregulated investment schemes promising implausibly high returns in excess of 10 per cent per month have proliferated," said the report. "These schemes have the potential to cause social and macroeconomic instability and hurt the financial sector."

Citing the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1900s Albania, the IMF warned of possible future macroeconomic implications and social unrest, should Jamaican schemes fail.

Several schemes have been unable to make scheduled payouts, including Cash Plus and Olint, the two most well-known. Cash Plus has since been liquidated; its boss Carlos
Hill and other executives charged with fraud.

It is thought that such failures have contributed to rising crime in Jamaica by worsening already adverse social conditions, weakened by high inflation and rising prices.

Yesterday, Don Wehby, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, reiterated the Government's stance on the schemes. All investment schemes must now register with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) where they must each undergo due diligence tests.

"What we have consistently said is that all investment schemes must be regulated by the FSC, and if they are unregistered then we consider them to be operating outside of the law and we will ensure that the law of the country be adhered to," Wehby told the Observer.

The IMF said that it welcomed the intention of the Government to take action against the schemes and supported their request for technical assistance.

That point was reiterated by Prime Minister Bruce Golding last night in an interview with the Observer at the 28th Caricom Summit in Antigua.

The IMF, he said, would be aware of efforts the Government has been systematically pursuing over recent months, including taking specific actions in some cases of reported unregulatory practices. He noted that one such case is currently before the courts.

Saying that he had not yet seen the IMF report, Golding said: "I wish to make it quite clear that the Bank of Jamaica has been very meticulous in its probings and is satisfied that the integrity of our banking system is secured."

The formal sector did not escape entirely unnoticed, with the IMF calling for both banks and unregulated schemes to be better monitored on a regional basis. The IMF recommended that more information needed to be collected on a regional basis to better assess financial risk warning that Caribbean integration and the development of regional banking conglomerates could cause jurisdictional blind spots.

- Additional reporting by Rickey Singh in Antigua

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