Izuchukwu OkosiFormer 100m and 200m world champion, Usain Bolt, has lost the sum of $12 million in his account with an investment company, Stocks and Security Limited, to hackers.
The Jamaican who has retired from the sport that brought him glory reportedly have the sum as a pension for both of his parents and the eight-time Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter.
The startling revelation on Thursday has prompted Bolt’s legal team to seek a suit against the company in a bid to recover the money.
A statement from Bolt’s lawyers read: “The account was part of Bolt’s retirement and lifetime savings.
“It’s distressing news for anyone, and certainly in the case of Mr Bolt, who established this account as part of his private pension,” Gordon said on Wednesday.
“We will be going to court with the matter” if the company does not return the funds,” his lawyer, Linton P. Gordon, told Fortune magazine over the phone.
“It is a grave disappointment, and we are hoping that the matter will be resolved in a way that Mr Bolt will recover his money and be able to live in peace,” he added.
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Stocks and Securities Ltd said in a statement on January 12 that it learned of the fraudulent activity by a former employee and had alerted law enforcement to the situation.
The company said that it had taken measures to secure customers’ assets and tighten protocols.
Jamaica’s Finance Minister Nigel Clarke claimed that SSL had committed “alarming and evil fraud” and promised to “bring all perpetrators to justice.”
Aside his sporting career, Bolt also secured some endorsement deals during his active days in Athletics.
Interestingly, there are emerging talents in the sport since the retirement of Bolt.
Recently, he congratulated Nigeria’s Tobiloba Amusan who made history with a new world record by winning gold at the 2022 World Athletics Championship in July and the Commonwealth Games.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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