The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel said regulations under the Register of Beneficial Ownership Act will be issued as early as today to allow the Ministry of Finance to access the secure system on beneficial owners and respond to queries from international agencies and the Office of the Auditor General.

In a report tabled in the House of Assembly this week, the Auditor General said the government did not provide beneficial ownership details about companies awarded COVID-related contracts as part of the $250m International Monetary Fund loan received last year.

Mr Bethel explained in the Senate yesterday that the decision not to provide the ownership details was the correct response of technocrats interpreting the relevant laws, not a decision made by policy-makers.

“The law as designed is based on the nature of the way we do business in The Bahamas in terms of our financial services sector in particular, but also in terms of the generality of what our laws permit in terms of company incorporation,” Mr Bethel said.

“It is on the basis of confidentiality and quite frankly there is a common law right that every person, including legal persons enjoy, that common law meaning that in the ordinary law there is confidentiality of one’s business and private affairs.

“The (beneficial ownership) law was drawn in a way that was benchmarked against countries throughout the world. We know that Great Britain and some countries throughout the world have moved to a publicly available register of beneficial ownership.

“That is not the international norm and The Bahamas went with the international norm which is to have a registration of beneficial ownership which is sufficiently agile and sufficiently correct to assist all enforcement and regulatory agencies to properly manage and to prevent the abuse of common law privileges of confidentiality, etc, by criminals. The law strictly limits the authorities who may request and receive information through a search. The Ministry of Finance, unfortunately, was not included as an authority on the matter and, as I indicated in a statement I put out last night (Wednesday), the law will be amended.”

Mr Bethel advised that the law currently allows the minister responsible to specify who can access the secure system. He said regulations are being prepared to ensure the Ministry of Finance is among the list of authorities that can do so.

“The Ministry of Finance in a matter of less than 24 hours will be in a position to fully comply with its international obligations,” he said.

State Minister for Finance Kwasi Thompson noted that such changes to the beneficial ownership law and the coming into force of the Public Procurement Act will give his ministry the authority to disclose information to the Auditor General.