JTA close to reclaiming multi-million dollar properties in fraud case

Byron Farquharson, Secretary-General of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), has said that the association is close to getting the titles for three multi-million dollar high-end houses which were bought from funds embezzled from its accounts.

“I was hoping, my colleagues, that I could hold up the titles of these properties at the conference today,” said Farquharson yesterday while addressing the JTA's annual conference in St James.

“I am not able to do so, but I am almost 99 percent confident that very soon I will be able to take them to a meeting and say, these are our properties.”

In 2013, the JTA discovered that more than $100 million dollars were embezzled from its accounts five years earlier.

It also discovered that the funds were used to purchase three high-end real estate properties among other things.

Two of the three properties are located in St Andrew and the other in St Catherine.

“The truth though, based on what I do know, if we were to sell all those properties, we would not fully recover the $100 million as they would be valued less,” said Farquharson is response to questions from delegates as to why the association did not sell the properties.

“We are happy to report that tax administration has agreed that the possession is ours and that it is our resources that had purchased it and therefore we do not have to pay for the transfer to happen,” explained Farquharson

The JTA secretary-general indicated that the association is in court fighting to recover other properties linked to the embezzlement.

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