Usain Bolt loses $12 million to hackers
The last time most people saw Usain Bolt, he was likely sprinting across race tracks in London, Rio De Janeiro, or Beijing.
And while the 8-time Olympic gold medalist has since retired from the sport, he’s now resurfaced for an entirely different reason.
Bolt is missing $12.7 million from an investment account he had with Stocks & Securities Limited, or SSL, an investment firm based in Kingston, Jamaica, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, citing a copy of a letter that Bolt’s attorneys sent the firm requesting the return of the money.
The attorneys also wrote, “If this is correct, and we are hoping it is not, then a serious act of fraud larceny or a combination of both have been committed against our client.”
Bolt first discovered that the funds were missing on January 11, according to a report from Jamaica’s English newspaper, The Gleaner.
The AP reported Wednesday that the attorneys are threatening SSL with civil or criminal action if the money isn’t returned to Bolt within the coming 10 days. A separate Bloomberg report on Wednesday, however, said that Bolt plans to take the case to Kingston’s Supreme Court if the money isn’t returned in eight days.
The funds in the account— which totaled $12.8 million— were part of Bolt’s retirement and lifetime savings, Bloomberg reported. Now Bolt only $12,000 left, his attorney, Linton P. Gordon told the AP.
This isn’t the first time that SSL has faced allegations of fraud. The Jamaica Financial Services Commission, which oversees the regulation of Jamaica’s insurance, pension and securities industries, told Bloomberg on Tuesday that it had installed a temporary manager at SSL, based on earlier reports of fraud allegation.
SSL did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for a comment. Insider also contacted Linton P. Gordon on behalf of Usain Bolt who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
