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Finsac's ruined lives
HEART TO HEART
Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dear Reader,
In addition to youth and children, Jamaica's entrepreneurial class now occupies a top spot on the list of endangered species. It seems to me that the surest way to personal and financial ruin is for anyone to have ventured into business, and the Finsac story is not only at the root of the problem, but represents the most vicious assault this country has ever seen on men and women, many of them over 60 years old who dared to dream and dared to try.
After years of private pain the group, now named the Association of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs, has gone public, and the stories are as shocking as they are heart-wrenching. I'm told that even now, the tale of the destruction will not be complete, and the reason for that is that several of Finsac's victims didn't wait to be destroyed by government. At least four of them are reported to have committed suicide. It's quite possible that the full story may never be told.
It is believed that the total number of "Finsac'd" people is approximately 30,000 - men and women who prior to the financial meltdown led fruitful and productive lives. Here's how one gentleman tells the story:
"It started in 1995 when I successfully secured a contract to build transformers for a major light and power company. My own company was, and still is, the only entity in Jamaica, the Caribbean and Central America that manufactured transformers. In order to carry out the contract, I secured a line of credit from one of the leading commercial banks for $24 million. Near the end of completion of the work, the contracting company decided to change the specifications regarding the "load loss test" for the transformers. It was not possible to change the specifications at that time, so we began talking.
"As a result, the light and power company decided to buy only 532 of the close to 1,800 transformers, and naturally that placed us in a precarious position with the lending institution. In the meantime, the lending institution crashed and my loan was transferred to another commercial bank, but with the purchase of the 532 transformers I had been able to service the loan. At the time that Finsac came into the picture, my loan balance was approximately J$12 million.
"It was 1997 when I became a victim of Finsac. By the time the Texas firm bought the debt from government, I was told that what I owed was $44 million. After negotiation, we finally settled on a figure of $50 million, which included interests and other charges. The contract was drawn up. I was to pay an initial lump sum, and the balance in payments over a period of time. Little did I know that the nightmare had just begun.
"When the contract was returned for signing, I noticed that there was a clause on the back of the document that stipulated that five years after the completion of payments, the overseas entitiy had the right to claim whatever might have been omitted from the contract. I realised that the clause was untenable, so I objected, and they agreed to take it back to Texas for review and for possible modification.
"Before the contract could be amended, the portfolio was taken over by the current entity, and without any notice, they mounted a raid on my business place in 2006. It was early morning, and I was having breakfast with my son when a worker called to say that a group of men, including policemen and the receiver, had stormed into the plant and were chasing the workers out. The workers quoted some of the men as saying: 'Leave now. No more transformers not making here. We taking everything.' But that was only the beginning of my destruction.
"About nine months later, a second raid was mounted on another one of my business places - a freehold entity that manufactured pre-fab transformers for my main company. The freehold company was not collateralised under Finsac.
Over a two- to three-week period, the receiver took away 26 trailer loads of pre-fab transformer components. During that time, our lawyers were able to secure an injunction barring them from removing anything else from the property. By the time we had that it hand, however, the 26 trailer loads of materials were gone and in the process, they destroyed 1,368 transformers and spilled over 25,000 gallons of oil on the property. The total loss is estimated to be approximately $1 billion. After confiscating and destroying my assets valued at about J$1 billion, they tell me I still owe them $71 million."
As the interviewer, I sat across the table listening earnestly to this distinguished-looking gentleman. His gentle face and grey hair reminded me of my father who has already passed on. I apologised for asking his age, but I felt it was important to know. He gracefully smiled and said, "I am 78 years old, and I am a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church."
I fought back the tears, I didn't want to add to his emotional state. As we walked out together, I kept asking myself, what manner of people would destroy another human being this way?
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
HEART TO HEART
Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dear Reader,
In addition to youth and children, Jamaica's entrepreneurial class now occupies a top spot on the list of endangered species. It seems to me that the surest way to personal and financial ruin is for anyone to have ventured into business, and the Finsac story is not only at the root of the problem, but represents the most vicious assault this country has ever seen on men and women, many of them over 60 years old who dared to dream and dared to try.
After years of private pain the group, now named the Association of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs, has gone public, and the stories are as shocking as they are heart-wrenching. I'm told that even now, the tale of the destruction will not be complete, and the reason for that is that several of Finsac's victims didn't wait to be destroyed by government. At least four of them are reported to have committed suicide. It's quite possible that the full story may never be told.
It is believed that the total number of "Finsac'd" people is approximately 30,000 - men and women who prior to the financial meltdown led fruitful and productive lives. Here's how one gentleman tells the story:
"It started in 1995 when I successfully secured a contract to build transformers for a major light and power company. My own company was, and still is, the only entity in Jamaica, the Caribbean and Central America that manufactured transformers. In order to carry out the contract, I secured a line of credit from one of the leading commercial banks for $24 million. Near the end of completion of the work, the contracting company decided to change the specifications regarding the "load loss test" for the transformers. It was not possible to change the specifications at that time, so we began talking.
"As a result, the light and power company decided to buy only 532 of the close to 1,800 transformers, and naturally that placed us in a precarious position with the lending institution. In the meantime, the lending institution crashed and my loan was transferred to another commercial bank, but with the purchase of the 532 transformers I had been able to service the loan. At the time that Finsac came into the picture, my loan balance was approximately J$12 million.
"It was 1997 when I became a victim of Finsac. By the time the Texas firm bought the debt from government, I was told that what I owed was $44 million. After negotiation, we finally settled on a figure of $50 million, which included interests and other charges. The contract was drawn up. I was to pay an initial lump sum, and the balance in payments over a period of time. Little did I know that the nightmare had just begun.
"When the contract was returned for signing, I noticed that there was a clause on the back of the document that stipulated that five years after the completion of payments, the overseas entitiy had the right to claim whatever might have been omitted from the contract. I realised that the clause was untenable, so I objected, and they agreed to take it back to Texas for review and for possible modification.
"Before the contract could be amended, the portfolio was taken over by the current entity, and without any notice, they mounted a raid on my business place in 2006. It was early morning, and I was having breakfast with my son when a worker called to say that a group of men, including policemen and the receiver, had stormed into the plant and were chasing the workers out. The workers quoted some of the men as saying: 'Leave now. No more transformers not making here. We taking everything.' But that was only the beginning of my destruction.
"About nine months later, a second raid was mounted on another one of my business places - a freehold entity that manufactured pre-fab transformers for my main company. The freehold company was not collateralised under Finsac.
Over a two- to three-week period, the receiver took away 26 trailer loads of pre-fab transformer components. During that time, our lawyers were able to secure an injunction barring them from removing anything else from the property. By the time we had that it hand, however, the 26 trailer loads of materials were gone and in the process, they destroyed 1,368 transformers and spilled over 25,000 gallons of oil on the property. The total loss is estimated to be approximately $1 billion. After confiscating and destroying my assets valued at about J$1 billion, they tell me I still owe them $71 million."
As the interviewer, I sat across the table listening earnestly to this distinguished-looking gentleman. His gentle face and grey hair reminded me of my father who has already passed on. I apologised for asking his age, but I felt it was important to know. He gracefully smiled and said, "I am 78 years old, and I am a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church."
I fought back the tears, I didn't want to add to his emotional state. As we walked out together, I kept asking myself, what manner of people would destroy another human being this way?
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
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