Court of Appeal reserves judgement in Olint/NCB case
April 26, 2008
FOREIGN exchange trader Olint Corporation Limited will have to wait until next week to find out if it will continue to be a client of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), which is seeking to close its accounts.
Court of Appeal Judge Justice Karl Harrison, after hearing arguments in chambers from attorneys representing both parties on Tuesday, reserved judgement until next week Wednesday.
Olint's attorneys were pushed to petition the court of appeal following a decision by Justice Roy Jones of the Supreme Court last Friday not to extend an earlier injunction restraining NCB from closing its three accounts.
Justice Jones said that NCB was within its rights, according to Bank of Jamaica requirements, to close the accounts because every day the accounts remained open the bank was exposed to the risk of sanction, as Olint was not licensed to trade within Jamaica.
NCB had sought to close the accounts because of Olint's failure to provide its audited financial statement and because the entity was not regulated, which puts the bank at risk for penalty if the business relationship continues.
Olint had, however, submitted that NCB should not be allowed to close its account as the bank has a fiduciary responsibility to it under the Banking Act and that closing the accounts would damage Olint's operation.
The bank made its move to close Olint's accounts following a Supreme Court ruling last December upholding a cease and desist order served on the trading entity in 2006 by the Financial Services Commission (FSC).
The FSC had contended that Olint, which has since moved its operations to the Turks and Caicos Islands, was operating illegally in Jamaica because it had not obtained a trading licence.
Author: Observer Reporter
Source: Jamaica Observer
