Athletics superstar Usain Bolt’s finances are at the center of an investigation in his native Jamaica, after millions of dollars were reportedly discovered to be missing from his investment accounts.
Nugent Walker, the star athlete’s long-standing manager, told Jamaican news outlet The Gleaner on Thursday that an investigation was underway after Bolt discovered discrepancies in his accounts.
Local investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), which held the account, had alerted the police, Walker said, and authorities including Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission had launched a probe into the missing funds.
Walker said Bolt had first noticed the discrepancies on Wednesday.
“All the relevant steps have been taken to come to the bottom of this,” he added, noting that he could not disclose how much money was involved in the case. The Gleaner reported that millions of dollars were missing from Bolt’s accounts.
However, Walker did tell The Gleaner that Bolt had held accounts with SSL for more than a decade, and that the sprinter’s “entire portfolio is being reviewed.”
A spokesperson for Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission said in a statement on Thursday that it had been made aware of a fraud allegation at SSL. The authority said it had instructed SSL to engage in “a process of enhanced oversight,” meaning it must have “a full view of the integrity of the transactions being conducted, including the movement of funds and securities into and out of SSL.”
“The FSC will simultaneously continue its investigations into matters related to SSL,” the spokesperson added.
Representatives for Usain Bolt and SSL were not immediately available for comment on the investigation when contacted by Coins2Day.
The Gleaner reported on Thursday that it had learned a former employee at SSL had been implicated in a “massive fraud” case at the investment firm—including the missing sums from Bolt’s accounts. Coins2Day was not able to independently verify this detail.
Bolt, who is widely regarded as the best sprinter of all time, has eight Olympic gold medals and broke several records throughout his career.
He retired from athletics in 2017 and said in 2019 that he was retiring from all sports, following a brief soccer career, to focus on his business ventures—which include shaving company Champion Shave, electric scooter firm Bolt Mobility, and restaurant chain Tracks & Records.
The Jamaican superstar was earning $31 million a year by 2018, according to Forbes, thanks to big endorsement deals from the likes of sportswear giant Puma. His income made him one of the world’s highest paid athletes, the publication reported.
Last year, it was reported that Bolt had a net worth of around $90 million.
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