Opposition Spokesman on Finance, the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Julian Robinson has promised to publish the Kroll forensic audit report into the multi-billion-dollar fraud at investment house Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), if the party wins the General Election on September 3.

Sprint legend Usain Bolt is among a number of victims of the scandal that rocked the nation in 2023.

Former SSL employee Jean-Ann Panton remains the sole person charged in the case.

A report prepared by UK firm Kroll Associates was submitted to the Government in November of 2023, but was never made public.

According to media reports, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has said it has never seen sight of the audit report.

The issue of the Kroll forensic audit report was raised by Robinson on Tuesday at the election debate on the economy, in response to a question from Our Today’s Al Edwards on the financial sector meltdown of the 1990s.

“What guarantee can you give under your [PNP] administration that Jamaica will never see history repeating itself, and how do you intend to honour that guarantee?” Edwards asked.

Robinson, in response, said the PNP will ensure that the agencies that have responsibility for managing and regulating the financial services sector “are actually manned by individuals who are competent and professional”.

“At the time when Finsac took place, the [PNP] government intervened to ensure that all depositors got back their money. What we want to see is the Finsac report published. The country spent a $150 million on a Finsac Commission [of Enquiry], and all now we can’t get the report!” Robinson asserted.

“We (the PNP) want the Finsac report out, and while you’re at it, we will publish the SSL [Kroll] report because we notice that the depositors have gotten $2 [for example] – if dem did have a $100 dollar in there (SSL), is only $2 dem get back…,” he suggested.

He further committed that a future PNP administration “will publish the SSL [Kroll] report, and it is a failure on their (the JLP) part that after all these years, given the impact of Finsac, that there is no independent report”.

“So, when we talk about Finsac, let’s get all the facts on the table, and release the Kroll report on the SSL,” Robinson demanded.

Responding to Robinson’s claims, the JLP’s Dr Christopher Tufton lambasted the PNP team for speaking on Finsac, accusing some members of the Opposition party of being “involved” in the Finsac period.

“Forty per cent of GDP to recover from Finsac, 40,000 businesses lost their money, 40 per cent being offered by Merchant Banks to make a profit… They (the PNP) cannot talk about fiscal discipline, they cannot talk about managing an economy, they presided over the Finsac era, they drove people in some instances to commit suicide based on news reports,” Tufton claimed.

He concluded by suggesting that the Jamaican people cannot trust the PNP.

– Sugar Ray Thomas