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Thursday, 12 June 2008
A legal battle is shaping up involving FINSAC debtors and Jamaica Redevelopment Foundation (JRF) the company which purchased the assets of failed entities following the financial sector crash of the 1990's.
Members of the Association of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs (AFE) whose loans were purchased by JRF have started filing lawsuits against the company.
<span style="font-weight: bold">This follows the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum served on the company last month to provide each FINSAC debtor with statements of accounts.</span>
The FINSAC'd members had vowed to take legal action if they did not receive statements within the specified period.
Spokesman for the AFE, Attorney at law David Wong Ken, told RJR News that individual members commenced legal proceedings after the warning fell on deaf ears.
"Several members of the association have written to the JRF demanding an account of the debt that is claimed. To my information the JRF has completely ignored the demand letters," said Mr. Wong Ken.
"As a consequence I am aware that several members have filed suit or are in the process of filing suit, that suit will be done by way of six-day claim form and it will be seeking an order of the court to compel the JRF to provide the accounting that is sought," he continued.
The Association of Finsac'd Entities is claiming that the family homes and businesses of many Jamaican entrepreneurs were sold by JRF without them receiving a detailed history of their loans.
Among other things, AFE is demanding that JRF account for the interest they were charged.
And FINSAC debtors will be taking their protest to the streets next week.
They have planned a demonstration outside Jamaica Redevelopment Foundation's New Kingston offices on Monday.
Secretary of the Association of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs, Yola Gray, said other forms of protest have been planned.
"We are having a meeting on Saturday during which we will be finding out from other persons because one of the plans we have is for persons who have citizenship status in the US, Canada or England that they write to their different ambassadors in Jamaica and send copies of their correspondence to the Ministries of Justice in their respective countries so they can intervene on our behalf," said Ms. Gray.
In April Finance Minister Audley Shaw announced that a Commission of Enquiry will be established to probe the financial sector collapse.