CAYDION Campbell, the court-confirmed trustee of Stocks & Securities Limited (SSL), has invited creditors, clients and claimants to submit their claims by July 26 in order to determine distributions of the fraud-hit firm which is being wound up.

Campbell posted the update on Friday on SSL’s website sslinvest.com which had several documents including a letter to creditors and claimants, a proof of claim form, his engagement letter, and other statutory documents.

The submission of the proof of claim form will be necessary for any creditor or claimant to avoid being excluded from the benefits of any distribution before ‘debts’ are proved. SSL clients were also reminded to update their accounts with up to date information

“SSL and its creditors and claimants are now one and the same as you are the ones with an economic interest in the company; anything that benefits SSL benefits you, any action against SSL is an action against you. I will, however, be mindful of the interests of other stakeholders, including the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Financial Investigations Division, the director of public prosecutions, and the general public as long as it is not to the detriment of creditors and claimants,” Campbell stated.

Five classes of creditors and claimants have been identified in the winding up of the SSL estate, which include unsecured creditors, unaffected trust claimants, affected trust claimants (contingent creditors), temporary management claimants, and equity claimants. Unsecured (on-balance sheet) creditors include clients payable, SSL promissory noteholders, employees, statutory payments and other obligations to State agencies and trade creditors who are suppliers of goods and services to SSL. Some of these creditors may be entitled to priority, as determined in Section 202 of the Insolvency Act.

Affected trust claimants are defined as the more than 200 SSL client accounts that were affected by the alleged fraud to their investment portfolios and balances, which were not what they ought to be. Some of these clients might have a contingent claim against SSL, which has created a contingent liability.

That contingent liability was matched by a contingent asset under the insurance claim under SSL’s Fidelity Guarantee (employee dishonesty) policy. Some of the notable affected clients include WellJen Limited, a holding company connected to sprint legend Usain Bolt, and Jean Elizabeth Forde who have filed multimillion-dollar claims in the Supreme Court of Jamaica.

Unaffected trust claimants refer to SSL clients whose portfolios were not affected by any alleged fraudulent events at the firm but are awaiting the disbursal of cash or transfer of securities to other firms. US$32.8 million of international securities such as shares in Nvidia, Apple and Tesla were liquidated in April but the disbursements were disrupted by the May 31 court judgment which dislodged the FSC and its temporary manager, Kenneth Tomlinson of Business Recovery Services Limited, from handling the affairs of the firm. Also, $7.6 billion in unclaimed local and fixed income securities were to be transferred to a trust company for the benefit of clients, but this never materialised.

Unaffected SSL clients will now have to face a new hurdle to gain access to their hard-earned cash due to the need to await a September 26 open court date and an October 18 meeting of trustees and claimants before any disbursals can be made. Also, Campbell mentioned that clients will face an ‘exit fee’ due to unaffected SSL clients facing no costs during the temporary manager’s handling of affairs — a move which he states is disproportionate to other creditors and claimants.

“It is therefore likely that a “management fee” or some such charge will be deductible from balances held by unaffected trust creditors before there is the finalisation of the transfer of the balances on their account to the new institution of their choice,” Campbell said.

“Discussions are being had with the FSC in this regard, and timeliness with which there can be a modified resumption of the transfer of clients’ portfolios is dependent on the outcome. This will be communicated to the relevant claimants as soon as practical,” Campbell’s letter explained.

Any unpaid amounts authorised by temporary Manager Tomlinson and possible FSC claim against SSL for expenses incurred during the temporary management falls under the fourth class of creditors and claimants.

Campbell will be seeking to explore a mechanism for the recovery of the US$1-million insurance proceeds which were used for the general temporary management expenses. The claim was filed on the premise of alleged fraud committed by Jean-Ann Panton. However, the trustee noted that there is no guarantee that this recovery will be successful.

Campbell and SSL were granted liberty to pursue recovery of damages by Justice David Batts against the FSC during the recent trial. Justice Batts also stayed all other court proceedings against SSL, including criminal proceedings, without the court’s permission. The FSC is currently mulling an appeal against Justice Batts’s judgment, according to Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke.

Spectrum Capital Partners Limited may have an equity claim against SSL as per the trustee letter. Spectrum was set to acquire 60 per cent of SSL for US$4 million but the deal fell apart in 2023 following several revelations and developments. Spectrum had filed a US$1.12-million lawsuit against SSL, SSL Growth Equity Limited, and George Chai.

Chai, a retired baker and businessman, has filed a $4.20-billion lawsuit against former SSL Chairman Hugh Croskery, Mark Croskery, and Jean-Ann Panton for several matters.

SSL Growth Equity is a Barbadian holding company that owns 62.50 per cent of SSL while Chai owns the remaining SSL interest, according to Campbell’s engagement letter. SSL Growth Equity has been publicly associated with the Croskery family.

Panton is set to return to court on September 27 on a 22-count indictment for several criminal charges. The court ruling mentioned that an SSL employee defrauded approximately $940 million from the firm. No criminal charges have been filed against any other SSL-associated individual to date.

It is yet to be determined how SSL creditors and claimants will be paid by the firm which has been found to be insolvent and has few remaining assets. SSL changed locations at the end of February and only had 11 staff members. Campbell’s original appointment for the proposed reorganisation of SSL would have seen him paid a US$5,000 retainer, and hourly fees ranging from US$100 to US$300 for his team members.