Bahamas ‘must reengineer economy faster than ever’
* QC: 2018 will ‘set economy for 20 years’ * Warns reform pace may be bewildering * Warns of tax, exchange control ‘recalibrating’
THE Bahamas faces having to “substantially reengineer its economy at a much faster pace than ever before” to escape global ‘blacklists’, a prominent QC warned yesterday. Brian Moree QC, senior partner at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, told Tribune Business that this nation’s response to the European Union/OECD initiatives in 2018 “will determine the future of the economy” for possibly the next 20 years.
‘Wild Wild West’ web shop oversight hits Gaming Board
* AG: ‘Difficulty’ undermines ‘blue ribbon’ status * Gov’t ‘seconding’ anti-money launder specialists * Will ‘address forthwith’ web shop money transfers
THE Gaming Board’s “blue ribbon” reputation has been hurt by taking on regulation of the “Wild Wild West” web shop sector, the Attorney General said yesterday. Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that the Government was now seconding more experienced anti-money laundering regulators from other agencies to the Gaming Board in a bid to get to grips with a sector deemed “high risk”.
Bahamas ‘shooting ourselves in foot’ on insurance regulation
* Bahamas ‘going beyond’ AML standard * AG: ‘We’ll give general insurers one year’ * Fears captive revival undermined
FEARS were raised again yesterday that the Bahamas could be “shooting ourselves in the foot” by including general and captive insurers within its anti-money laundering regime. Emmanuel Komolafe, the Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman, urged the Government to provide the “benchmarking” studies and data to support its decision to define both market segments as financial institutions under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA).
Governor targeting ‘Caribbean lead’ in finance crime fight
* Bahamas must ‘aspire’ to ‘low medium’ rating * Central Bank goes to ‘continuous’ AML watch * Moving to address CFATF deficiencies
THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday said the Bahamas needs to target “a Caribbean leadership position” by reducing its financial crime risk profile to a ‘low medium’ ranking. John Rolle, responding to Tribune Business questions following the release of the Central Bank’s new anti-money laundering/counter terror financing strategy, said the move to “continuous” supervision of such risks would address one of the deficiencies identified in the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) assessment of the Bahamas.
PM: ‘No time to rest on laurels’ over EU
THE Prime Minister yesterday said the Bahamas has “no time to rest on our laurels”, given the European Union’s (EU) concerns over the absence of corporate income taxation. Dr Hubert Minnis told the House of Assembly that the EU’s Code of Conduct group had written to the Government expressing concerns that this nation’s tax system did not comply with its ‘blacklisting’ criteria.
Bahamas faces major tax, exchange control shake-up
The Bahamas may have to completely overhaul its corporate and taxation structure to escape European Union/OECD ‘blacklisting’ threats, the Attorney General revealed yesterday.
AG: We’ll deal with ‘major slippage’ in anti-launder regime
THE Attorney General yesterday pledged to address the Bahamas’ “significant slippage” in the battle against financial crime through roll-out of its National Risk framework before year-end.
Opposition leader in ‘total dreamland’ over Freeport
FREEPORT businesses yesterday blasted the Opposition’s leader as being “in total dreamland” over his defence of the former government’s incentive regime.
Chamber urges: ‘Tighten up and enforce’ Enterprises Bill
THE Chamber of Commerce yesterday urged the Government to “tighten up the language”, and enforce the provisions, in the Commercial Enterprises Bill to prevent potential abuses.
CIBC FirstCaribbean explores US listing
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s parent yesterday confirmed its subsidiary is exploring a US stock exchange listing, a move likely to stoke speculation of a Canadian bank withdrawal from the region.
Some fishermen ‘shut it down’ following Irma
BAHAMIAN fishermen are hoping to “make up” for a rough 2017 with a better crawfish harvest before the season closes, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance’s (BCFA) president said yesterday.
Gov’t to tackle mail boat concerns ‘in earnest’
A CABINET minister yesterday said he has committed to a “sit down” with mail boat operators after Christmas to address “in earnest” industry concerns.
Bahamas ‘on probation’: 17-step action plan cure
The Government has detailed a 17-step ‘action plan’ to strengthen the Bahamas’ anti-money laundering regime, with a top regulator describing this nation as “on probation” over increasing weaknesses.
Bahamians urged: Show ‘more ‘outrage’ over financial crimes
BAHAMIANS were yesterday urged to show “more outrage” over financial crime and poor business practices, a prominent cleric arguing that these had become “entrenched in our culture”.
AML Foods closes Carl’s Jr franchise
AML Foods has decided to pull the plug on its Carl’s Jr franchise and close all three outlets, Tribune Business confirmed yesterday, although no job losses will result.
