By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DAMIAN Gomez, State Minister of Legal Affairs, has announced the government’s plan to clamp down on pawn shop-like businesses in an effort to curtail “vexing and scurrilous” criminal activity associated with precious metals and stones.

Yesterday, the Financial Transactions Reporting Amendment Bill 2014 was passed and is expected to address the threat of persons stealing jewellery and other valuables and then using the private sector as a means of disposing of the ill-gotten gains.

The Bill ensures that the Bahamas complies with anti-money laundering requirements and standards as there has been significant growth in Cash for Gold stores and other types of consignment operations. The government has identified such operations as high risk while licenced jewellers in downtown Nassau and other shopping hubs are graded low risk.

Dealers in precious metals and stones would be required to report suspicious transactions when they engage in any cash activity with a customer equal to or above an applicable designated monetary threshold.

Mr Gomez said: “Essentially what our country is confronted with is unregulated pawn shop-type activity which exposes our system to the vulnerability of unscrupulous persons.

“(These persons) take knowingly stolen items and reduce those stolen items into composing elements either for re-manufacture of other jewels that are then sold therefore masking the crime of receiving and ultimately the crime of theft. (Or they) fully launder the proceeds and benefit of those criminal activities in a way that is notoriously vexing and scurrilous.”

In 2011, the Ingraham administration tabled a compendium of crime fighting bills which included the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Bill. It allows officers to enter the premises of a dealer, inspect all articles in his possession and request the production and copies of the dealer’s records.

Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder urged parliamentarians to support the Bill and ensure that the Bahamas remains a leader in compliance mandates.

“Our AML regime,” he said, “application of it and development of human capital in compliance is second to none.

“Like all other financial centres, the Bahamas is being asked to sign on and comply with this new global evolving standard, requiring more compliance, more expense, and more regulation. The government recognises this and has a firm belief in being at the table, engaged so that we can help influence the implementation of a new standard so that the financial services industry of the Bahamas is best positioned for growth.”

However, despite the government’s attempts to further regulate that industry, FNM East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest noted the failure to bring any regulations to web shops or include copper dealers in the legislation.

“This legislation does not address web shops and we know that as of today web shops are alleged to be involved in providing financial services in addition to illegal gambling. If we are going to talk about financial transaction reporting, if we are going to talk about anti-money laundering and if we are going to talk about addressing the proceeds of crime, we cannot have a closed eye to the activity that exists.”