There is growing concern that business community in Jamaica could be badly affected by the negative publicity stemming from the phone fraud schemes known as lottery scams.
According to Chris Stokes, a Jamaican business executive there could be serious economic implications.
“A Jamaican to condone or facilitate or turn a blind eye to something that is bringing in 300 million is foolhardy . Because we are actually putting at risk billions of dollars, we are putting at risk our entire banking relationships, this is not something to be celebrated,” said Stokes who was a guest on Sunday’s editing of the RJR weekly news review programme, “That’s a Rap”.
He said the fall-out from the scam could affect the remittance sector, as well as the banking and investment communities.
“The first set of sanctions may be on the banking system. Because one of the issues that may arise is that of attaching this to anti-money laundering issues and counter financing of terrorism issues….these are clearly criminal elements” he said.
GUN TRADE
In the meantime, as the United States hits out at the impact of the lottery scam on its citizens, Reverend Carl Johnson, a Baptist Minister – who was also a guest on the programme, said the US must address the issue of the flow of American guns into Jamaica.
While the US Senate Special Committee on Ageing was convening its hearings on the lottery scam last week, another group of senators was engaged in deliberations on gun control proposals, including a possible assault weapons ban.
“They are acting for their vulnerable, but we are also vulnerable and in a global environment we have to learn how to care for each other. They are more concerned with the flow into their country. And... we have suffered for so long and it has contaminated this nation” Johnson said.
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