Bank to block assets of suspected fraudsters

DUBAI // A Swiss bank in Dubai has been ordered by a court to freeze the assets of two Jamaican clients alleged to have defrauded up to 40,000 people. Carlos Hill and his brother, Bertram, are being investigated by the Jamaican authorities on suspicion of establishing an unlicensed investment company that has defrauded Jamaicans and UK-based Caribbean residents. They are alleged to have lured the investors into handing over around US$2 billion (Dh7.3bn) into an unregulated investment scheme.

Hugh Wildman, the Jamaican court-appointed liquidator of Cash Plus, the company owned by the Hill brothers, announced in September that US$25 million was found in Dubai after the brothers were cited in Jamaican press reports as stating that the company had folded and had no funds. On September 27, the Dubai International Financial Centre courts ordered Julius Baer Middle East, a Swiss bank in Dubai, to disclose the assets and freeze the accounts of the Hills. All correspondence between the bank and the defendants are also to be shared with the court. The court reconvened in a private session yesterday and held a video conference in which Julius Baer presented those documents.

amustafa@thenational.ae