Friday, July 11, 2014
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
BEFORE the long-awaited Gaming Bill is brought to Parliament, the government will implement several recommendations relayed last week by representatives of the Financial Action Task Force, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday.
His statements to The Tribune came a week after Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson met members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris, France, to understand if the proposed webshop regulations would stand up to international scrutiny on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing guidelines.
Mr Wilchcombe did not give details on the FATF’s recommendations or the impact they may have on the Gaming Bill, but he said the meeting between Mrs Maynard-Gibson and FATF representatives went “very well”. He said this signified that the final hurdle to regulating the webshop sector has been crossed.
“(FATF representatives) were very pleased that we engaged them,” he said. “(They) pointed us in certain directions.”
Mr Wilchcombe said once the FATF recommendations are implemented, he is confident local banks will participate in the new gaming regime.
He said the “countdown” to bringing the final Gaming Bill to Parliament is on once again, though he did not give an exact date when the bill will be brought.
He said: “We’ve had a tremendous amount of cooperation; we’ve heard dialogue from various banks, web shop owners (and) casino operators. We’ve had tremendous amount of consultation, people are understanding of the steps we are taking. We knew the FATF would be concerned about money laundering channelled through financial systems. We had to make sure we have a defined position for how to address their concerns.”
Leading bank officials have noted that regularising web shops would not be enough to address the problems with the sector that currently stop banks from conducting business with them.
Last month, Free National Movement Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner read a position paper from RBC (Bahamas) in the House of Assembly, which noted that dealing with web shops – even after they are regulated – would lead local banks to violate the global policies of their parent companies.
Liaising with the FATF and conforming to its guidelines is an important step in ensuring banks accept proceeds from regulated casinos and web shop operators.
Comments
GrassRoot says...
Our government is like a kid that goes to school without having done its homework. July and counting....
Posted 11 July 2014, 2:25 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Almost sounds like they've had a revelation from God. Meanwhile the man on the street has been talking about these concerns for a whole year....
Posted 11 July 2014, 3:54 p.m. Suggest removal
CANDACESCOTT says...
These people have a unbelievable disrespect for the intelligence of its people and are they themselves unbelievably unintelligent. There is no way they can passed a law that would clean up the PROCEED OF CRIME. All the funds and asset that the number own are the PROCEEDS OF CRIME...smh. I would love to see the FATF recommendation and see for myself how "very well" the meeting went.
Posted 14 July 2014, 9:21 a.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Would be interesting, I'd like to know if the 100,000 cash payment came up.
Posted 14 July 2014, 9:34 a.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Until the government reveals ALL documents related to HOW and WHY we arrived at a webshop bill in the first place .................. then Obie, the people will trust you.
Posted 11 July 2014, 6:59 p.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
Christie, Wilchcombe, Maynard-Gibson and Nottage are all behaving more like agents and operatives for the Numbers' Bosses, all of whom are well known long time criminals, rather than acting as elected representatives of the Bahamian people. Christie has thus far wrongfully ignored the will of the Bahamian people as expressed in a duly held referendum instigated by him that cost the Bahamian people well in excess of one million dollars. His thought process on this matter is seriously flawed as a result of the PM and PLP being indebted to the Numbers' Bosses. He claims his government and the police force are unable to shut down the web shops that have for many years been involved in all kinds of illegal activities, yet in his next breath he claims his government can reign in the criminal activities of the Numbers' Bosses by simply passing new gaming legislation. With this logic he could also open the doors of Fox Hill Prison by passing a law that says all of the prisoners incarcerated there are now law abiding citizens that should be freed. What utter foolishness! Christie, Wilchcombe, Maynard-Gibson and Nottage are looking more and more like a lamed brained baboons with the passage of each day simply because of their unwillingness to enforce existing laws that would shut down the web shops and confiscate the assets of their known racketeering Numbers Bosses. Curiously though, the FNM leadership is not up in arms about the referendum having been ignored and is not pressing for the web shops to be shut down (and the Numbers' Bosses incarcerated). This fact seems to imply the FNM is also indebted to the Numbers' Bosses. Our entire political system seems to have been corrupted by the proceeds of crime and all banks operating from within the Bahamas today stand to jeopardize (taint) their global networks and correspondent relationships by their possible participation in money laundering activities associated with the activities of known criminals (the Numbers' Bosses).
Posted 11 July 2014, 11:02 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Ditto ...... well said WMTS
Posted 12 July 2014, 9:09 a.m. Suggest removal
ChaosObserver says...
they all owe crap loads of money/paybacks/favors to these numbers people anyway, so why expect to have them move fast or in any clear direction? Stalling is an art....and necessary part of these politicians lives....
Posted 13 July 2014, 5:55 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Guess u betta move to your homeland in the South
Posted 14 July 2014, 10:31 a.m. Suggest removal
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