Jean-Ann Panton remanded until 2024

Jean-Ann Panton, the lone accused in the multibillion-dollar fraud investigation at Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), was today further remanded until May 27, of next year.

The former SSL client relationship manager is facing a 22count indictment charging her with forgery, larceny as a servant, and engaging in a transaction involving criminal property.

Today when the matter was called up in the Home Circuit Court, the prosecution informed that the case file was complete.

The Communication Forensics and Cybercrime Division (CFCD) report and compact discovery which were outstanding were disclosed to the defence.

The court also heard that the prosecution completed disclosure to the defence electronically.

Panton's lawyer, Sylvester Hemmings acknowledged receipt of the documents but noted that he is not finish going through them and as a result, has not taken further instructions from his client.

When asked how much time he needed, Hemmings indicated three months. Panton who appeared remotely was further remanded.

According to a signed statement made to SSL dated January 7, 2023, Panton admitted that she “used various mechanisms to take money from clients” and that she “created false statements to provide to the clients reflecting what they should have in their accounts and not the sum they actually had in their accounts”. She added that she took the money “over the course of several years”.

The statement, which was part of an internal SSL investigation, named 39 clients whose accounts had a total value of over $700 million.

Panton said she took approximately 20 per cent of that sum in addition to an additional $109 million.

An account in the name of Welljen Limited, a holding company owned by sprint legend Usain Bolt, was not mentioned on the list, and SSL said in a subsequent statement that it was unaware that the portfolio had been affected.

The account’s value plummeted from J$2 billion (US$12.7 million) in October 2022 to J$1.8 million, or US$12,000, in January when the fraud was uncovered.

Bolt has not recovered any money, his legal team has said.

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