Carlos Hill

It now seems that all the hoopla regarding Cash Plus’ purchase of several multi-million dollar real estate properties was more fiction that fact. While talks were underway regarding those properties, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Major Investigations Task Force (MIT), Les Green, has made it clear that the company does not own either the Drax Hall Estate in St. Ann or the Hilton Kingston hotel. He said the purchase deals for the properties were not complete and, therefore, the Cash Plus group did not own them.

"There are claims made about the ownership of assets that might not be true, and that is all part of the fraudulent activities that we are investigating," ACP Green told journalists on Thursday, after the police raided Hill's home in Norbrook, St Andrew.

After viewing Cash Plus’ brochure and website, it would surprise many that Cash Plus is broke what with the myriad of companies in varying industries claimed to be owned by the group.  They are involved in distribution, gaming, telecommunications, entertainment, security, development, industrial and financial services.  Is it that these companies weren’t really making money and were just used as a marketing ploy by Cash Plus?  That is still left to be seen, as it is not clear at this stage what the total assets of the company are.

The investors are left to ponder at this point, whether their investment will turn out to be a ‘Cash Minus’, as it seems inevitable that Cash Plus is sinking quickly with no sign of a life buoy anywhere nearby. 

After the pyramid fiasco in Montego Bay a few years ago and this recent melodrama with Cash Plus, is it safe to assume that Jamaicans will not be caught by the sweet promises of such a scheme in the future?  Only time will tell.  However, regulators need to be more watchful in ensuring that there aren’t activities being carried on in the economy that are outside the borders of financial legislation and intervene more quickly than the five years that Cash Plus was allowed to operate unchecked.

Written by: Roger Kerr