CLIENTS of Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) have hit another roadblock as the firm has been suspended from online trading with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) blocking any trades from being executed.

SSL clients have been contacting the Jamaica Observer indicating that they were no longer seeing their SSL portfolios being displayed on Jtraderpro.jamstockex.com. This comes amid the recent events surrounding an alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud at the securities dealer.

One client showed the Business Observer a Jtraderpro online trading support email on January 30 which outlined, “This serves to advise that the online trading activities through Stock and Securities Limited (SSL) have been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice. All transactions should be processed by contacting SSL directly.”

A call to the JSE corroborated that the action has been effected and that no new accounts related to SSL can be added to the platform and clients would have to contact the firm to execute any trades. The action was effected through a notice by SSL which is under temporary management by the FSC.

Jtraderpro is the online trading platform launched in May 2015 that facilitates online trading by clients of JSE member-dealers. Ten firms were listed as options to trade on the platform before SSL was suspended.

Another SSL client urgently reached out and shared an email in which a senior financial advisor stated, “We are unable to execute any trade at this time. We can however log your request for approval by FSC. As to how soon we will be able to execute that trade, I am unable to give you a timeline.”

The client explained that he was trying to close his managed accounts, liquidate all JSE securities and see if he could move his brokerage account to another broker which facilitates international trading through Interactive Brokers LLC. She also expressed concern that it appears some trades that were recently done have been reversed and that they are unable to move forward right now. They are planning to visit the company’s head office later this week.

Under normal circumstances, a client wanting to transfer his/her portfolio from one broker to another would execute an inter-member movement transaction which would require both the outgoing and incoming broker to complete the process. The outgoing broker would be required to complete an inter-member movement form and processing at the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) for it to be completed.

However, with the FSC at the helm processing all and any requests, this has effectively rendered the clients assets frozen at this time. This is also complicated by the fact that different SSL members of staff have left the firm following the developments in January.

SSL is currently embroiled in a situation where more than 40 clients including retired sprint sensation Usain Bolt currently are missing money from their accounts. Kenneth Tomlinson is currently the temporary manager. He is reviewing the financial situation at the firm to establish its true state. As a result, all decisions by the firm have to go through the FSC. The FSC’s prudential function has been stripped away with the Bank of Jamaica effectively leading the regulator and its board of directors during this time.

Different SSL clients have reached out to the JCSD to establish the state of their accounts for securities held in their custody. The JCSD is launching its client portal on Thursday at 6:30 pm which will provide more information to member/dealer clients and for ease of queries.

The FSC went to the Supreme Court and blocked SSL, Caydion Campbell, Hugh Croskery, Laurence Adamson and Peter Knibb from attempting to wind up the company and liquidate its assets. Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke posted the documents submitted to the Companies Office of Jamaica on Twitter last week.

In the declaration of solvency documents, three of SSL’s directors signed that SSL had $1.38 billion in assets and total liabilities of $1.12 billion with the estimated net distribution to members estimated at $98 million as of June 30, 2022. However, the JSE’s Regulatory and Market Oversight Division’s (RMOD) December 2022 regulatory report showed that SSL’s annual returns for June 30 were still outstanding at the end of the month.

Annual returns by member dealers should be submitted within three months of the end of the financial year. SSL’s returns were due at the end of September, but it was granted an extension of 30 days to file the documentation.

JSE Rule 210 states that if three months have elapsed since the due date for submitting audited accounts/annual returns, the JSE shall have the authority to send in an exchange auditor to prepare the member-dealer’s accounts and audit them. Late submissions for any financial returns rack up $5,000 a day in fines as per Rule 211.

SSL has not been formally suspended as a member-dealer of the JSE or as a securities dealer by the FSC. However, the JSE can initiate disciplinary proceedings as per Rule 228 for acts of misconduct once referred to the Regulatory and Market Oversight Committee. If SSL is found guilty of misconduct after a hearing panel, they could be expelled or suspended from the JSE, expulsion of the member-dealer’s representative from trading or entering any trading floor of the JSE.

SSL’s 33 ½ Hope Road, St Andrew location is owned by St Lucian International Business Company (IBC) SSL Number 4 Limited which was formerly known as Darjina Capital Limited. SSL Number 3 Limited and SSL Number 7 Ltd are other IBCs bearing the SSL name. Delta Capital Holdings Limited was formerly known as SSL Investments Limited up to August 2020 as per public IBC information on pinnaclestlucia.com.

SSL’s two largest JSE holdings through its Alpha account at the end of 2022 was 29,134,517 shares of Everything Fresh Limited and 22,689,783 shares of FosRich Company Limited. A client statement provided by a SSL client showed a 8.0 per cent SSL promissory note due December 11, 2023 and a 7.5 per cent Delta Capital Holdings promissory note due October 7, 2023.