Search Results for: Antigua

Implementing international sanctions is never easy, but the sanctions regime on Iran is highly complex, buffeted by shifting diplomatic stances. With its Security Council ally Russia relying on Iranian military and technology supplies for it to pursue its invasion of Ukraine, time-limited UN restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme officially lapsed on October 18.…

Antigua & Barbuda has been making steady progress building its AML/CFT system, although mutual evaluation reports and third-party assessments suggest the twin island nation needs to continue forging fresh protections. It has, however, not released conviction and prosecution data since 2016 – making its AML/CFT effectiveness tough to assess.…

Caribbean island states are looking to harness their natural advantage in bounteous sunlight to expand solar power, boosting their energy independence, while reducing the cost of energy as gas and oil prices rise. Even in oil and gas-rich Trinidad & Tobago, consumers have been feeling the energy pinch, facing increases in their electricity bills in 2023.…

The collapse of crypto-trading platform FTX and its associated hedge fund Alameda Research may help spark the creation of a global regulatory regime to monitor crypto-currency exchanges. Keith Nuthall reports.

The FTX Group’s November 11 filing for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy sent shockwaves through the global crypto-currency market and should encourage the development of international regulation to control this unstable industry.…

Disgraced former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried is facing years in jail and huge fines after being charged with multiple fraud offences following the collapse of crypto-trading platform FTX and its associated hedge fund Alameda Research. He is accused of illegally funnelling FTX customer funds for his own personal gain and for Alameda investments.…

Bulk cash smuggling remains a favoured way for criminals to move dirty money, despite the increase in electronic means to transfer the proceeds of crime, such as new cryptocurrency services.

In its most recent 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said in 2019, there were more than 3,000 bulk currency seizures in the United States, with more than USD368 million taken, 62% up from the USD227 million seized in 2018 (although that followed eight years when the value of bulk cash seizures fell).…

INDEPNDENT states accused of harbouring major corruption are the responsibility of their own citizens, ideally with change imposed through the ballot box. But dependent jurisdictions with powers reserved to metropolitan (former colonial) governments have more complex political problems. Keith Nuthall reports on the latest scandal in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).…

THE EUROPEAN Commission in June (2021) signalled it was running out of patience with Malta and Cyprus over their ‘golden passport’ schemes which allow people investing in these small island nations to effectively buy citizenship. The European Union (EU) executive has long warned that such policies contain significant ML risks, releasing a detailed report in 2019 that highlighted concerns that governments failed to properly screen the source of funds used to gain golden passports.…

From bringing traditionally outsourced services in house to right-sizing staff, Caribbean financial professionals advising the region’s critically important tourism sector are making tough decisions to keep businesses afloat and redundancies to a minimum during Covid-19.

ACCA members speaking to A&B, however testified to solidarity among workers, clients and suppliers – and the resilience of a region used to disaster, albeit usually through extreme weather.…

Entrepreneurship abounds across the diverse island nations of the Caribbean where small, independently-owned beauty product businesses thrive and have been successfully vying for space alongside major international brands in pharmacies, boutiques and family-owned stores alike.

What many manufacturers lack in start-up capital, they make up for in innovation and close proximity to a wealth of organic, raw materials that are finding new favour with modern, discerning consumers at home, with an eye to developing export sales.…