Usain Bolt’s company, Welljen Limited, is set to begin receiving compensation from the ongoing Stocks & Securities Limited (SSL) fraud case, according to court appointed trustee Caydion Campbell.
Campbell confirmed that disbursements from the victims’ compensation fund will start on Monday, marking the first payments in Jamaica’s response to one of the country’s largest financial scandals. More than US$30 million (J$5 billion) was siphoned from over 200 clients, including US$6.2 million (J$950 million) belonging to Bolt’s company.
“We have finalised with the Committee of Inspection and the payments will be made next week,” Campbell said on Friday. He has overseen the SSL wind-up process since May last year, after the court removed government supervision.
The fund currently holds J$79 million, while approved claims total J$1.7 billion. As a result, only a 4.5 per cent payout approximately J$75 million has been declared. Of this, J$61 million will be distributed to 14 Tier 1 claimants starting August 25, while 26 Tier 2 claimants are expected to receive J$14 million the following week once further details are verified. It means victims will only recover a small fraction of their losses at this time.
Campbell explained that the payments are going to “off-balance-sheet” trust claimants investors whose money was held outside SSL’s formal accounts. Tier 1 beneficiaries had sufficient records to prove their claims, while Tier 2 payouts are still being calculated based on transaction patterns due to missing information.
Asked directly about Bolt, Campbell confirmed: “To avoid any mischief, I can confirm a distribution is to be made to Welljen. No further comments.”
The scandal has been under scrutiny for years, with the Financial Services Commission warning as early as 2017 that SSL had a culture of “non-compliance and mismanagement of client funds.” Victims, including Bolt, have voiced frustration at the slow pace of the investigation and recovery process.
THE MONTHS OF FRUSTRATION.
In February, Bolt openly criticised the handling of the matter during an interview on The Fix podcast, saying he felt pressured to keep raising questions to avoid being ignored:
“Clearly, it looks like if me no apply some pressure or do something or start make whole heap o’ questions being asked, me nah go get back nutten,” he said.
Bolt’s attorney, Linton Gordon, welcomed the development but said the payments are far from adequate.
“Payments being made are just a fraction of what persons have lost, and it’s just the start,” Gordon told reporters. He declined to reveal how much Welljen would recover, citing confidentiality.
Welljen has filed a lawsuit against SSL and former client manager Jean-Ann Panton, seeking either US$6.2 million the original investment or US$12.7 million, the balance reflected on one of Bolt’s last statements. Panton remains the only person charged in the fraud to date.
Bolt, who retired from athletics in 2017, has rejected claims that he was negligent, pointing out that SSL was a licensed brokerage regulated by the FSC and even held accounts for government entities and public officials, including Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who closed his account in 2021.
For Bolt and other victims, the compensation payments are only the first step in what could be a long road to financial recovery