KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, has hit back at accusations made by Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Abka Fitz-Henley that the former PNP administration had failed to act on warnings from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) regarding embattled Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) in 2013.

Robinson, in a statement on Monday, dismissed the allegations by Fitz-Henley as false, labelling them “an insult to the Jamaican people.”

He added: “The PNP acted decisively in 2013 to protect investors, while the JLP administration chose to trust SSL’s false assurances in 2017, paving the way for this catastrophic fraud. The Holness administration must answer why it lifted restrictions on SSL without proper verification, leaving Jamaicans vulnerable.”

According to Robinson, under the PNP government in 2013, then-Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips and the FSC took immediate action, issuing a directive requiring SSL to suspend critical activities due to breaches of the Securities Act.

He claimed that the JLP administration, in 2017, discontinued proceedings to suspend SSL’s license after the entity claimed compliance. The FSC lifted the 2013 restrictions based on SSL’s representations, as confirmed by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke. He said both decisions occurred under the JLP’s watch and the massive fraud was uncovered at SSL following the lifting of restrictions.

Robinson renewed the PNP’s call for the Kroll Report to be released, a forensic audit of SSL covering 2010 to 2023. He said this report is critical to understanding the full scope of the fraud and the failures in oversight that allowed it to occur.

“The public has a right to know the truth,” Robinson emphasised. “The Holness administration must stop hiding behind excuses and release the Kroll Report without further delay.”