Feb 2007 Financial News

Money-laundering indictment relates to threshold transactions, says NCB

Feb 14, 2007

The Editor, Sir:

Arising from the mention of the charges laid against National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited in the Resident Magistrate's Court on February 8, and the statement issued by our bank also on February 8, several reports have been carried in the local and international media regarding the summonses served for failure to report threshold transactions under the Money Laundering Act.

Given the nature of this matter, our ability to respond to speculation and allegations is constrained by the fact that the matter is before the courts.

However, we are compelled to take steps to safeguard our reputation by responding to the inaccuracies stated in the news reports that have been carried to date with the following facts:-

1. The Money Laundering Act requires banks to report to the local Financial Investigations Division of the Ministry of Finance and Planning all cash transactions equal to and above US$50,000 or the equivalent in any currency (known as "threshold transactions"). The six summonses served on our bank made no mention of a failure to report "suspicious transactions".

2. The six summonses were for failure to report threshold transactions. The transactions described in the summonses in question were deposits for approximately J$50 million or approximately US$871,000 in total. The news reports of the charges levied on the Bank for several different transactions ranging from US$20 million to a total of US$27 million are grossly inaccurate.

3. No employee of National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited has been named in any of the summonses received.

We wish to strongly encourage fair, accurate and balanced reporting in this matter, which took place four years ago, as failure in this regard does not promote the interest of justice and will detract from the significant advances that National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited has made since 2003, to improve its compliance reporting regime and to increase its ability to assist in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and other illegal activity.

Sheree Martin
NCB Group Marketing &
Communications Division

The Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday, Feburary 14, 2007.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070214/business/business5.html