Search Results for: Antigua

Caribbean jurisdictions may be increasingly signing up to the requirements of America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) but there is no great enthusiasm about it. Indeed, some bankers fear it could lead to a sharp fall in the region’s charms for investors.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has concluded that five jurisdictions need to improve their tax information exchange standards – Andorra, Anguilla (a UK dependent territory), Antigua & Barbuda, Indonesia and Saint Lucia. The OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes said these jurisdictions were “partially compliant” with its standards.…

THE CARIBBEAN is maybe the most culturally diverse region in the world and this has been reflected in its colourful, tasty and varied cuisine. So it is no surprise that the region’s confectionery sector is innovative, drawing on unusual combinations of ingredients that create tasty products that could serve as inspiration for companies around the world.…

The Caribbean island state of Antigua & Barbuda has needed to demonstrate its thriving online gaming sector is protected against money laundering, to gather diplomatic support for its campaign against US bans on Americans gambling on its websites.

Faced with evidence that criminals can exploit the sector to transfer dirty cash between players’ accounts, before investing it in assets such as shares or real estate, Antigua in 1994 became one of the first countries to provide licences for online gambling operators.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

CARIBBEAN jurisdictions are stereotypically seen as information black-holes whose minimal filing requirements for companies and trusts facilitate fraud.

Think Stanford International Bank and Westbond International Bank, two Antigua based vehicles for high-profile Ponzi schemes. Also, the Madoff scandal in the USA led to the liquidators of Fairfield Sentry – a British Virgin Islands (BVI) domiciled hedge fund that was among Madoff’s main victims – unsuccessfully trying to claim back money from investors who had legally withdrawn money from Sentry.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN

SWINDLER, liar, bully and briber, R. Allen Stanford was once one of the world’s wealthiest men. With a net worth of USD 2 billion, the Texas-born financier lived a life of lavish luxury, with yachts, airplanes and an international bank to call his own.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN

THE GOLDEN rule of investments has and continues to be – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The most recent example of this advice being disregarded causing a high profile court case involves R Allen Stanford, Texan-banker and former multi-millionaire.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN

WITH what was once an estimated net worth of over USD2 billion, R. Allen Stanford was once revered as one of the wealthiest men in America. Yet a Texas court has now heard in detail that his wealth, which he displayed in both opulent and lavish ways, was derived from ill-gotten gains.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN, IN EDMONTON

THE TRIAL of Texas-banker Allen Stanford, accused of defrauding investors out of US dollars USD7 billion began in a Houston court room on Tuesday January 24th, nearly three years after the original charges were laid. Mr Stanford, who owned and operated the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, was originally arrested in 2009 and is accused of 14 different counts of defrauding over 30,000 investors from over 113 countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PEER review reports on tax rules coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) have attacked jurisdictions over tax information law weaknesses, including the UK. It had "insufficient mechanisms…to identify owners of bearer shares and…restrictive…statutory information gathering powers," said the OECD.…