By Chantalé Fletcher
“If it’s too good to be true, then maybe it is.”
This was the warning of acting Senior Superintendent Wendell Lucas of the Financial Investigations Branch (FIB) at a press conference of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service on Friday.
He said many citizens continued to fall prey to money schemes.
Lucas advised people to do due diligence and check with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on whether the person offering this advice was registered with the SEC, before they parted with their money.
He said there were many reports where persons purchased items from “Government auctions.”
However, Lucas added that persons should check the necessary Government agencies or institutions before they make any payments.
He said, “Persons have been scammed into parting with monies on the pretence that they were purchasing items from Government auctions and were asked to deposit monies into accounts in various financial institutions.”
Lucas advised persons to stop using their identification cards to remit money out of the country for a meagre fee. He said such activities carried severe consequences if the money was sent for criminal activity.
Lucas gave a breakdown of some of the work done in 2021 from the FIB.
He said the branch seized $4.1million and US$132, 925 from criminal entities in 2021.
Lucas said, “This year, we were able to file applications to forfeit $14,876,692 and US$514,627 and there were other currencies which were forfeited.”
He anticipated this trend would continue as there were ten matters before the Director of Public Prosecutions with a value of over $1.1 million and US $52,517 which would be applied to forfeit to the state in 2022.
Lucas said the FIB forfeited $705,374.38 and US$685,092 to the state which would be placed into the seized asset funds.
He said the seized money would be used to benefit organisations, entities and assist in treating some depressed areas and persons, who have suffered as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
