MANCHESTER, Jamaica — The Knox Community College has issued a statement following an OBSERVER ONLINE report that a major fraud probe has been launched at the school.

Read: Major fraud probe launched at Knox, staff sent on leave

The statement, which has the principal’s name Dr Davia Ramgeet affixed, said the school discovered certain irregularities involving the falsification of a number of cheques issued by the college.

The statement did not clarify the amount of money allegedly defrauded, but sources say that the fraud reportedly involves tens of millions of dollars being unaccounted for from at least two accounts.

“The discovery was prompted by a recent call from our bankers, seeking to verify three checks presented to them on the day; three checks with numbers coinciding with ones issued by the college, but apparently altered to reflect greater amounts. Subsequent internal checks revealed that other cheque items had in fact been paid previously,” the statement read in part.

The school said it has reported the matter to the authorities.

“The matter has been reported to our board of management, our auditors, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime and Security portfolio, the Ministry of Education and Youth, the general secretary of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and, as well as our bankers (NCB) Fraud Prevention Unit. The matter is now under full investigation by the relevant authorities, and, in the meantime, several staff of the accounts department have been placed on administrative leave. Contingency measures have been put in place to ensure business continuity,” the statement said.