KINGSTON, Jamaica — Petrojam says it is not aware of claims that former General Manager Floyd Grindley still has access to a bank account belonging to the company.

In a statement on Thursday, the state-owned oil refinery, dismissed news that Grindley remains a signatory on an account with the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB).

Petrojam explained that in May 2019, the company advised its financial institution of the authorised signatories to the account as follows:

· General Manager

· Manager, Logistics and Marketing

· Manager, Refinery Production

· Financial Treasurer and Budget Planner

· Chief Accountant

According to Petrojam, the bank was advised in said correspondence that any previous authorization sent was superseded by the 2019 correspondence. It also shared that in May 2021, it established online access to the account, for viewing and printing only, by the following post holders:

· Cost Accountant

· Financial Treasurer and Budget Planner

· Accounting Officer – Banking and Investment

· Chief Financial Officer

Petrojam added that this online access does not facilitate transactions.

“We wish to note that all our banking transactions require two authorised signatories,” the Petrojam statement ended.

Grindley and former Petrojam chairman, Dr Perceval Bahado-Singh, are currently on trial for fraud in relation to overseas travel allowances amounting to US$73,620.

In the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday, Grindley’s attorney King’s Counsel KD Knight suggested that he remains a signatory on the company’s bank account. Knight pointed out that Grindley, no longer the general manager, was still a signatory on the account which holds enormous sums of money up to November. Knight said that he could have sought means of swindling the cash.

READ: Former Petrojam GM had access to company’s US account four years after leaving oil-refinery