Clarification

THE RICHARD AZAN referred to in the Sunday Gleaner of January 13, 2008, under the headline 'Investment screw-up', is the former Member of parliament for North West Clarendon.

The Gleaner wishes to underscore that the story in question is not intended to refer to any other individual possessing the same name.

Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

PEOPLE investing in high-yielding unregulated schemes are well aware of the risk involved and have been described by Ricardo Azan as "courageous".

Azan is the man at the centre of an investment scheme which folded recently, flushing millions of investors' dollars down the drain. He had been trading millions of his investors' dollars in Europe, giving them returns of between 40 and 60 per cent, per deal.

high-end investors

Azan refuses to divulge how and what he trades. However, his disclosure that it required a minimum of US$25,000 to start investing with his scheme has left little doubt that he catered for high-end investors. But his money stream ran dry recently when "one deal went sour".

And so sour it was, that last week, he was forced to make an appeal to his investors, at least one of whom, he believes, squealed and got the police involved.

"Somebody reported it (to the police) and it was absolute stupidness," he tells The Sunday Gleaner.

When he addressed investors on Thursday, an emotional Azan told them: "It doesn't help if I go to jail. If I go to jail and my children are dead, it doesn't help ... For some reason, the Fraud Squad visited me today."

Some 179 persons, who Ricardo Azan insists are family and friends, had pooled money for him to invest. He has admitted to mismanaging their money but has said that he intends to repay the last investor within 15 months.

not connected to money express

The meeting with investors, which took place on the roof of a Kingston hotel, was booked in the name of Richard Azan of Money Express Financial Services Limited. Richard Azan is a director of that company. Despite this apparent connection, Ricardo Azan says his business is in no way linked to Money Express and that he does not know the directors. He concedes, though, that Richard Azan could be his relative.

The Financial Securities Commission and the Bank of Jamaica, reportedly, began investigating Money Express after The Gleaner broke the story on Friday.

Added to his money worries, Azan has been snubbed by his political associates.

no longer in gov't's confidence

The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), to which he has donated millions of dollars, had placed him on the board of the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, but he no longer seems to have the Government's confidence.

"I got a call from the Prime Minister today asking me to resign as chairman of some institutions," Azan told the meeting with investors last week. In signalling his intention to resign from the Trelawny stadium board, Azan tells The Sunday Gleaner: "I don't want my crisis to in any way affect the Jamaica Labour Party or what they are trying to do."

A long-time JLP supporter, Azan served as treasurer of JLP Member of Parliament Olivia 'Babsy' Grange's campaign committee in the recent general election. He, however, insists that politics does not define him. Instead, he prefers to be viewed as a businessman, or perhaps a trader.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com