NASSAU| Another man has been hauled before the courts after some $850,000 was alleged in court yesterday that he allegedly defrauded from the bank accounts of the Bahamas Securities Commission.
Prosecutors say the 41-year-old Car wash owner Jeremy Pinder laundered $850,000, the proceeds of a fraudulent Securities Commission cheque.
According to court documents, Pinder allegedly moved $800,000 of the illegally obtained money to accounts outside of the country and withdrew $49,600 from a local account.
Pinder denied charges of fraud by false pretenses, conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses and money laundering at his arraignment today.
He’s been denied bail and returns to court on April 1.
The Commission, which is usually quiet on these matters spoke up and issued a press statement confirming the incident.
That statement from the Commission read: “In early February 2020, following our normal internal processes, the Commission discovered an irregularity in its operational bank account. The appropriate persons at our bank were immediately contacted for an explanation and correction of the irregularity. On the next business day, it was determined that a fraudulent cheque in the amount of B$850,000.00 was cleared through the Commission’s account in January 2020.
“That evening, the Commission contacted senior persons at our bank and the financial institution where the fraudulent cheque was deposited. We also reported the matter through the appropriate channels and contacted the police. In turn, the police immediately launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
“In light of recent events, the Commission encourages all businesses to be vigilant in enforcing basic internal control procedures to prevent and detect fraud, including the timely completion and review of bank reconciliations.”
We believe Pinder had inside help though and investigators should look closer to his relationships inside a major political party.
We report yinner decide!
