‘I just need my money’
Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-03 | Original Article
A Kingston-based shipping entrepreneur is demanding answers from Scotiabank Jamaica after more than two months of what he describes as an unexplained $10-billion hold on his personal and business accounts.
He says the situation has crippled his operations and trapped the funds of several people who transacted with him.
According to the businessman, Scotiabank blocked all withdrawals while still allowing deposits.
He is appealing to the bank to immediately release his accounts or provide a written explanation for why they have been locked since September 25.
“I just need my money. I need to know what is happening,” he told The Gleaner.
He added that he was in the process of launching a new website and app for his business when the accounts were frozen.
The only explanation he said he has received was from a bank representative who told him that a $40,000 discrepancy was being reviewed. However, he claimed that his accounts process more than $12 million each month.
“There is more than enough money in the accounts to cover that [discrepancy] even 10 or 20 times if needed,” he said.
The businessman said he banks at Scotiabank’s Kingston and Mandeville branches but was told that the freeze originated from the Spanish Town branch. He claimed that he was initially told the matter would take no more than a week, but after repeated visits, he received no updates.
After weeks of waiting, he hired an attorney, Matthew Hyatt, who wrote to Scotiabank and copied the correspondence to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). The lawyer reportedly received the same response the businessman had been hearing since September: that the matter was “under review” and that a determination would be made once the review was concluded. He said the BOJ said it was also looking into the matter.
In a letter to Scotiabank on October 31, Hyatt described the continued freeze as “woefully unreasonable and manifestly unjust”.
He added: “We wish to make pellucidly clear that our client is not involved in any criminal activities nor has he conducted himself in any untoward manner concerning these accounts. The freezing of these accounts has caused significant and undue hardship.”
The freeze has hit his shipping company during its most profitable period. The businessman lamented that he was likely to miss out on profits from Black Friday as well as the upcoming Christmas season. He also warned that the situation could expose him to accusations of mishandling customer funds if he is unable to clear deliveries for which they have already paid.
The entrepreneur said the freeze prevented him from helping relatives in Manchester and St Elizabeth after Hurricane Melissa. He has been banking with Scotiabank since his high school years, around 2010 to 2012, and opened his shipping company account in 2021.
When contacted, Deleen Powell, public affairs and communications manager at Scotiabank, said, “In keeping with the Banking Services Act and our privacy policy, Scotiabank is unable to confirm or disclose any information relating to any individual client or account to third parties.”
Meanwhile, Barbara Hume, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Bankers Association, when asked to clarify under what circumstances a bank can freeze a customer’s account, for how long, and whether the bank is required to disclose the reason for any hold, did not provide any substantive response.
“Without knowing the particular facts and circumstances of the situation to which you refer, I am unable to offer any commentary or advice, which would, in any event, require a legal opinion. What I can share is that under the Code of Conduct (2016), issued pursuant to Section 132(4)(b) of the Banking Services Act (2014), any aggrieved customer may take their case to the Bank of Jamaica, the supervisory regulator of all deposit-taking institutions,” she said.
tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com
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