JMMB Group officials say Barbados safe, FSC aware of developments

A million dollar lawsuit filed against JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited will not affect Barbadians who conduct business at the Barbados-based branch.

That assurance has come from Chief Marketing Officer of the JMMB Group, Kerry-Ann Stimpson, who told Barbados TODAY that clients at the local branch need not fear as the legal action did not extend to Barbados’ shores.

Her comments follow a US$1.2 million (BDS$2.4 million) lawsuit filed in Jamaica against JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited by software engineer Zachary Clemmings.

The JMMB Group serves over 460 000 clients in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, offering financial services including investments, banking, remittances and insurance brokering.

A court date is yet to be set for hearing the case, in which Clemmings alleges negligence and is seeking damages, claiming that his personal account at one of JMMB’s branches in Jamaica “was frozen following its use to process payment sums from his business website”.

However, Stimpson has maintained that the lawsuit will not affect business in Barbados.

“The lawsuit filed by Mr Zachary Clemmings is against JMMB Bank Jamaica Limited, a subsidiary company in the JMMB Group. As the matter is pending litigation before the courts of Jamaica, we are not at liberty to publicly comment on the details surrounding the lawsuit,” Stimpson told Barbados TODAY in a statement.  

“In addition, we invite you to note that JMMB International, which has operations in Barbados, is another subsidiary of the JMMB Group, is not a part of the lawsuit and is, therefore, not impacted by it.

“However, as we have already publicly stated, we wish to reaffirm that we acted in accordance with our regulatory responsibilities. JMMB remains committed to acting in the best interest of our clients. Integrity, transparency, and accountability are at the core of our operations and are reflected in our internal processes and decision-making,” the statement further added.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which regulates non-bank financial institutions, has already reviewed the lawsuit.

In a statement to Barbados TODAY, the regulatory body said the legal action should not affect Barbados.

“Based on the information reviewed to date, this matter does not appear to directly involve the JMMB entities registered under the FSC’s regulation or the activities for which they are registered,” the FSC said.

The legal action was taken by Clemmings against JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited, according to a claim filed in the Supreme Court of Jamaica in October 2024.

In the court filing, Clemmings said: “This account was subsequently unfrozen; yet several transactions have not been credited to his account. The uncredited transactions amount to the sum of US$35 036.54 [BDS$70 006.51].”

The claimant, who also has a business account with the bank, owns a business through Shopify’s online store where he offers information technology services.

Clemmings claimed that despite full compliance and proactive engagement with the financial institution, it either failed or refused to effectively communicate or resolve the issue concerning the non-credited funds, significantly affecting his business operations and financial stability.

The software engineer alleges that JMMB’s retention of these funds “without justification” has led to considerable inconvenience and financial strain on him.

He is therefore seeking immediate crediting of the alleged frozen funds to his account “as the defendant owed him a duty of care to manage his accounts and has subsequently breached this duty, by unjustly withholding these funds”.

“As a result of the foregoing, the claimant has suffered loss and incurred expenses,” according to Clemmings’ claim.

He alleges that JMMB Bank breached its duty of care by failing, among other things, to properly inform the claimant of the reason for the transactions that remain uncredited in his account; failing to deal with the claimant’s matter with alacrity; and intentionally retaining the claimant’s funds without justification, thereby causing substantial loss of business opportunities and income.

But in its defence filings, JMMB denies the allegations, though admitting it had suspended transactions on Clemmings’ account at its Mandeville branch between December 2023 and February 2024.

The financial institution said that between November 2023 and February 2024, multiple large deposits were made to the claimant’s account at the Mandeville branch, which exceeded the expected monthly deposits declared by him for the account.

JMMB contends: “As a consequence, transactions on the account were suspended, pending investigations into the source of the funds, further to the defendant’s duties and obligations as a regulated business under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Terrorism Prevention Act, and the United Nations Security Council Resolutions Implementation Act, governing the relationship between the defendant and its customers.”

The bank also denies receiving the sum, which Clemmings claims remains uncredited to his account.

Instead, JMMB argues that it received and subsequently returned the sum of US$360 227.38 (BDS$719 770.33) in deposits destined for the claimant’s account by wire.

JMMB, originally known as Jamaica Money Market Brokers, officially launched its operation in Barbados in March 2024. The JMMB Group celebrated the opening of the offices of its newest subsidiary, JMMB International Limited, a licensed securities dealer, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Hastings Business Centre in a significant development for the financial conglomerate as it expands its Caribbean footprint.