Dextra - BOJ ruling
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1997.
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Dextra in suing the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) for repayment of the money, claimed it was borrowed by the local Central Bank on a promissory note. But the BOJ's defence team headed by Solicitor General Kenneth Rattray claimed Dextra's US dollar cheque was bought by the central bank through foreign exchange agents.
The defence team argued that the promissory note on which Dextra relied to support its claim was invalid as one of the signatures was unauthorised while the other was a forgery.
Presiding Judge Paul Harrison in accepting the defence arguments suggested that Dextra had not sufficiently protected itself against fraud and had acted imprudently by agreeing to a large loan to the central bank without a written request or direct communication. "I am of the view that (Dextra) behaved with studied consistency in avoiding any direct contact with the BOJ, the central bank of the sovereign state of Jamaica, and neglected to follow the normally acceptable procedures expected by the BOJ and used in normal lending transactions with large foreign institutions," Harrison said.
Questionable foreign exchange dealings by Jamaica's central bank in the early 1990s led to a major scandal and the resignation of former CARICOM Secretary General Roderick Rainford as governor of the bank.
Two deputy governors also lost their jobs in the fall-out.
