FOLLOWING a long-awaited verdict, Alliance Finance Limited (AFL) was fined a total of $21 million or 12 months’ imprisonment in the Kingston and St Andrew Court for breaching the Banking Services Act.

The company was also fined $50,000 or nine months’ imprisonment for each count of 28 breaches of the Bank of Jamaica Act.

AFL was given two business days to make payments or risk spending time behind bars.

President Peter Chin and Vice-President Robert Chin of AFL had pleaded guilty to 28 counts of carrying on the business of lending foreign currency without being an authorised dealer under Section 22A (2) of the Bank of Jamaica Act. These charges related to over 20 foreign currency loans, totalling approximately US$8 million to various entities.

The brothers also pleaded guilty to eight counts of breaches to Section 10 (1) (c) of the Banking Services Act for accepting deposits without the requisite licence from the Bank of Jamaica. These breaches related to a series of deposits in excess of US$7.5 million over a three-year period (2014-2017).

At the same time, it was revealed in court that various individual charges against the Chins for breaches of the Bank of Jamaica Act and the Banking Services Act were dropped, following a guilty plea in January, as announced by the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Donnette Henriques.

Reacting to the verdict, lead attorney-at-law for the pair, Tom Tavares-Finson, told the Jamaica Observer, “This afternoon, the representative of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Henriquez, indicated to the court in this particular instance that the Director of Public Prosecutions Department was dropping all the charges against them individually, so this is a very important day for them.”

Seemingly pleased with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Tavares-Finson stated, “Today is a very important day for Robert and Peter Chin, principals of the Alliance Group of Companies, because as you are aware they were before the court in individual capacities for various breaches of the Bank of Jamaica Act and the Banking Services Act.”

“May I say that strictly speaking those are referred to as regulatory breaches. It was not necessary for them to arrest the principals of the company, put them into the police station, take them before the court and bail them,” he continued.

Additionally, it was decided that Peter and Robert Chin should appear before the Supreme Court on May 27 for mention in a benefit hearing. They are also required to return to the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on May 20 for breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

“What the Financial Investigation Division is saying is that they benefited from the acts to which they pleaded guilty and the Financial Investigation Division is saying that they must be penalised for benefiting from these loans and deposits that they took that they were not authorised to take,” Tavares-Finson said.

Alliance Investment Management Limited (AIML) and AFL, and their President Peter Chin and Vice-President Robert Chin were charged on Thursday, December 2, 2021, with various breaches of the Bank of Jamaica Act, the Banking Services Act, and the Proceeds of Crime Act.