November 2, 2007
Fraud uncovered at Red Stripe
FRAUDULENT activity at Red Stripe led the brewer to write off $42 million in “unsubstantiated” receivables and call in “the relevant authorities”, said the company.
In a notification to the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) yesterday, the local brewer advised that “bad debts for the year ended June 30, 2007 were $85.2 million, compared to $23.8 million recorded in the previous year”.
“Included in this amount was a write-off of approximately $42 million that represented account receivables that could not be substantiated,” added Red Stripe. “Subsequent to the yearend, the company conducted a thorough internal investigation, which uncovered a fraud.”
The firm said the matter was “now in the hands of the relevant authorities”.
