MOCA Director General Urges Unified Front Against Financial Fraud in Jamaica

Greater cooperation among banks, regulators and law-enforcement bodies at home and across the region is needed to harden Jamaica’s financial systems against fraud, according to Colonel Desmond Edwards, Director General of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).

Addressing the Jamaica Institute of Financial Services (JIFS) Anti-Fraud Seminar at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew on Thursday (July 9), Colonel Edwards said such links must be workable, swift, open and grounded in action rather than talk alone.

“We cannot build resilient financial institutions through speeches alone. We build them through decisions, investments, systems, reporting, cooperation and leadership. So my charge to you today is simple, treat fraud intelligence as a shared national asset,” he stated.

He urged participants to create organisations able to spot wrongdoing, react quickly, recover losses and adjust to new threats, while tightening ties between financial firms, oversight bodies and the police.

“Build institutions that can detect, respond, recover and adapt. Strengthen the bridges between financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement. Remember the criminals are building networks… so those of us charged with protecting the financial system must build even stronger ones,” the Director General added.

Colonel Edwards said MOCA will keep working with players in finance, government, policing and regional bodies to tackle financial crime. He described the agency’s mandate as probing serious organised crime and corruption, including intricate financial offences, alongside local, regional and international allies to map criminal networks, back investigations, hold offenders to account and defend the integrity of Jamaican institutions.

“At MOCA, our role is to investigate serious organised crime and corruption, including complex financial crimes. We work with local, regional, and international partners to identify criminal networks, support investigations, pursue offenders, and protect the integrity of Jamaica’s institutions. But we cannot do so alone,” he said.

He also highlighted how quickly institutions respond when fraud is suspected, noting that by the time a case lands with investigators, early steps taken in-house can decide whether funds can be traced, recovered and successfully prosecuted.

“Were the relevant records preserved? Were suspicious accounts identified quickly? Were internal logs secured? Were communications retained? Were transactions mapped? Were the victims encouraged to report promptly? Were related institutions alerted? Was law enforcement engaged early? These questions matter. We’re not asking financial institutions to do law-enforcement jobs but we are saying that your systems, your data, your alerts, and your early decisions often impact all or any law-enforcement outcomes,” he said.

Colonel Edwards said the nature of financial fraud has shifted markedly in recent years. What was once treated mainly as a back-office compliance matter—handled by fraud teams, internal auditors and compliance staff—has grown into a complex form of organised crime.

“Fraud is now a cyber issue, a governance issue, a customer confidence issue, and increasingly, a national economic security issue. As I look around this room, I see the people who have been entrusted with the awesome responsibility of not only protecting institutions but also protecting the integrity of Jamaica’s entire financial system. You are not just protecting the trust of customers and clients for your various institutions but also the reputation of the country as a place to invest and transact business,” he said.

Senior Special Agent and Senior Digital Forensic Examiner at MOCA, Khiana Chutkhan, told the gathering that stronger network and cybersecurity defences, together with wider public education, are essential tools in countering fraud.

Ms. Chutkhan said that, as of 2025, unlawful financial activity globally had exceeded US$4.4 trillion. She added that fraud and scam incidents had climbed by 19.3 per cent, while professional reports pointed to a 90 per cent jump in attacks powered by artificial intelligence.

Drawing on figures from the Jamaica Constabulary Force Fraud Squad, she said losses linked to fraud in Jamaica’s deposit-taking sector stood at roughly $2.4 billion as of 2025.

“While we have reported fewer attempts, we have reported bigger losses,” she stated.

JIFS Chairman Dr. Dayton Robinson stressed that every worker in the sector shares responsibility for upholding public confidence in financial institutions, especially as threats grow more advanced.

He restated JIFS’ pledge to bolster Jamaica’s financial services industry through training, professional growth and joint action.

“As fraud continues to evolve, so too must our knowledge, capabilities and our partnerships. We can’t do it by ourselves,” he said.

The seminar drew participants from across Jamaica’s financial services landscape, including regulators, law-enforcement representatives, and professionals in compliance and risk management, to discuss the rise of digital and technology-driven fraud and ways to make institutions more resilient.