JCF made 127 arrests in fraud targeting bank customers since 2021

    

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) says it has made 127 arrests in its investigations of fraud targeting local bank account holders over the last three years.

 

The JCF says from 2021 to 2024, six hundred and one reports were received, with losses amounting to $306 million.

 

Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Crime and Security portfolio, Fitz Bailey, gave a further breakdown of the losses incurred over the period, during his appearance before the Economy & Production Committee of Parliament on Wednesday. 

 

"In 2022, for example, we had 179 reports in comparison to 189 in 2023, and that represented a 10 or 6 per cent increase. And again, the National Commercial Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia were most impacted. That was 85 per cent of the reports. Since January 2024, we have had 98 reports, and the total amount of money lost is $53 million. And these were offences mostly committed through online transfers, automated teller machines and point-of-sale, as well as wire transfers," he reported. 

 

DCP Bailey said greater collaboration between the JCF and some financial institutions has allowed for a breakthrough in some of the cases of fraud. 

 

"I must point out NCB in particular, and this has been not new. Over the years, we have always had that type of relationship with NCB. Sometimes it's very difficult to get support from the other financial institutions, the other banks."

 

But he pointed to other constraints, such as the fact that police "have to be applying for court orders through the judiciary to get the information, which sometimes slow down the investigative process".

 

DCP Fitz Bailey has recommended legislative changes to allow the police easier access to the accounts of individuals suspected of engaging in bank fraud. 

 

"...A court order can only be obtained when someone is arrested. If that is not done, we have to go through the ministerial order. And I think that aspect of the law need (sic) to be amended so that an officer can make an application before a judge for a court order...to look at a person's account before the person is arrested. It really impacts our own investigative process without that authority," he complained. 

 

Representatives of the JCF and the Bank of Jamaica are appearing before the Economy and Production committee in relation to concerns about the banking sector.