ST JAMES, Jamaica — The Financial Investigation Division (FID) in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service says three Chinese nationals have been arrested in relation to illegal foreign exchange operations in Montego Bay, St James.

Their arrests on Friday, June 12 follow an investigation by the FID, Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Division (C-TOC) and the Major Organized Crime and Anti-corruption Agency (MOCA). 

They have been identified as Shiyue Zhou, 36-year-old businesswoman and operator of HTC Wholesale; JieQung Zhou, 27-year-old cashier and Ximei Wong, who is 42 years old.

They have been charged with breaches of Section 22 of the Bank of Jamaica Act.

Chief Technical Director of the FID, Selvin Hay, in a statement this morning reminded that it is illegal for anyone to engage in the trading of foreign currency without a license issued by the Bank of Jamaica.

The three accused were offered station bail in the sum of $300,000 and are to appear before the St James Parish Court on July 1.