Suspension extended for CAL manager

(Trinidad Express) A Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) manager has received an additional two weeks suspension, as an investigation continues into a multi-million dollar alleged racket involving the use of fraudulent credit cards which has already cost CAL more than TT$12 million in losses.

The accounting manager was initially sent on leave on September 23 for two weeks.

While on leave, management requested he provide the CAL board, led by Phillip Marshal, with a comprehensive report about the transactions which led to CAL’s losses.

Sources say from January 2012 to June 2013, CAL has lost more than US$1,721,792 in charge backs.

Charge backs are the return of funds to customers. It is the reversal of a prior outbound transfer of funds.

Following a forensic investigation by CAL’s internal auditing department and Ernst and Young, the manager at the airline was suspended for two weeks.

The credit card activities sources say, involve European, Jamaican and Nigerian individuals.

Sources say the scam involves the booking of airline tickets via credit card.

“Calls to our centres come in after 6 p.m., when banks are closed and we have no way of verifying the information on the cards,” the source said.

Adding that the fraudsters normally booked business class tickets to the United States, England and several Caribbean countries, the source said after the booking was made, the transaction was cancelled, following which the fraudsters called back the centres saying they wished to cancel the transactions and get a refund.

Contacted for a comment, CAL’s communications head Clint Williams said it was not CAL’s policy to “discuss publicly, confidential staff matters”.