Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has discovered that more than $12.7 million is missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica, according to a report from the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, Bolt's lawyers told the AP that Bolt once had $12.8 million in that account, but it now has just $12,000. In a letter sent to Stocks & Securities Limited, Bolt's lawyers asserted that it would be a major crime against their client and demanded that the money be returned.
"If this is correct, and we are hoping it is not, then a serious act of fraud, larceny or a combination of both have been committed against our client," Bolt's lawyers wrote in their letter.
Stocks and Securities Limited did not respond to the AP's request for comment, but the company's website says it will keep clients updated on the situation as more information becomes available.
"We understand that clients are anxious to receive more information and assure you that we are closely monitoring the matter throughout all the required steps and will alert our clients of the resolution as soon as that information is available," the company wrote on its website.
Jamaica's Financial Services Commission will now be appointing a special auditor to investigate allegations of fraud at Socks and Securities Limited.
Nigel Clark, the financial minister of Jamaica, also weighed in on the situation. Clark said this one instance should not shake people's faith in the country's financial systems as a whole.
"It is tempting to doubt our financial institutions, but I would ask that we don't paint an entire hard working industry with the brush of a few very dishonest individuals," Clark said.
Bolt retired in 2017 as one of the most beloved athletes in Jamaican history. As one of the greatest sprinters in the world, Bolt took home two gold medals in the 2008 Olympics, three gold medals in the 2012 Olympics and three gold medals in the 2016 Olympics.
