Are Michael Lee-Chin and Paul Simpson plotting something big? The Cornerstone boss reportedly snapped up a chunk of NCB shares recently and it’s got people talking.

So, the big question on everyone’s mind recently has been, what’s NCB and more specifically, its Chairman Michael Lee-Chin up to? 

Just a few weeks ago, the billionaire sold 22 million of his shares in the company. 

Now according to a notice on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s website a “connected party” sold an additional 16 million shares between June 27 and 29. We can’t be 100% certain that the connected party is Lee-Chin but it’s highly likely. 

That’s almost 40 million shares in NCB sold in roughly two weeks. And even though Lee-Chin is still the majority shareholder in the company, it’s still raised more than a few eyebrows.

So, what’s really going on? 

Well, it’s being speculated that some of Lee-Chin’s shares were bought by Paul Simpson.  Simpson is the founder of the Cornerstone Group that owns Barita Investments.

Now Simpson and Lee-Chin reportedly have a very close relationship. Simpson has called Lee-Chin his mentor and Lee-Chin is also the godfather to Simpson’s youngest child.  That’s according to a social media post from his wife – yeah, we be digging.

To backtrack for those who don’t know, Paul Simpson has been a rising star in the banking and investment industry.

Like I said he owns Cornerstone Group, which owns Cornerstone Merchant and Trust Bank and Barita Investments. Cornerstone brought Barita back in 2018 and since then, it feels like Barita has been everywhere!

Now it wouldn’t surprise me if Paul Simpson or Barita bought the NCB shares from Lee-Chin because it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done business together.

Back in 2021, Barita bought the 250-acre Reggae Beach property in St Mary from Lee-Chin.

And last year, Nationwide News reported that Lee-Chin and Simpson had a secret high-level meeting in Florida where they reportedly discussed a possible deal to increase Jamaica’s access to alternative energy.

And if light bulbs aren’t going off in your head yet, alternative energy is one of the projects that Lee-Chin told us he’s focusing on during his time away from NCB.  Make sure you watch my full interview with Michael Lee Chin on YouTube.  It’s a classic episode.  Take notes.

Additionally, Lee-Chin is expected to be in Jamaica sometime very soon to announce some type of deal regarding nuclear energy.  

So, I think that pieces are starting to fall in place now.