Usain Bolt fires business manager over Jamaica fraud case

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt told reporters Friday that he is baffled over how $12.7 million of his money has gone missing from a local private investment firm that authorities are investigating as part of a massive fraud that began more than a decade ago.

Bolt also said he has fired his business manager, adding that it was not an amicable split.

When asked if he was “broke,” the retired star athlete laughed.

“I’m not broke, but it’s definitely put a damper on me,” he said. “It was for my future. Everybody knows I have three kids. I’m still looking out for my parents, and I still want to live very well.”

Bolt’s attorneys have said the athlete’s account with Kingston-based Stocks and Securities Limited dwindled from nearly $12.8 million to some $12,000. They had given the company until Friday to return the money or face civil and criminal action.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether any action had been taken as of late Friday. Attorney Linton P. Gordon did not return a message seeking comment.

He told the Jamaica Observer newspaper that the public should anticipate the “expected and the unexpected” in the case.

“There is nothing to say at this stage, given what is happening,” he was quoted as saying. “We have met with persons, and we are dealing with certain matters.”

Earlier this week, Jamaican Finance Minister Nigel Clarke announced that the director of the Financial Services Commission was stepping down and that the Bank of Jamaica would now be in charge of regulating the island’s financial system.

He said several government agencies and elderly customers also were affected by the alleged fraud.

“It’s always a sad situation. Definitely disappointed,” Bolt said of the elderly who were...