By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian financial services provider yesterday argued this nation should take a “neutral” position by not imposing sanctions levied against Russian oligarchs and business entities.

Paul Moss, president of Dominion Financial Management, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas could be penalising individuals opposed to their country’s invasion of Ukraine after this nation’s financial services regulators ordered all licensed providers to halt any transactions with sanctioned persons, companies and state-owned entities in Russia and Belarus.

“As a nation we should be able to condemn what Russia has done,” he asserted, “and object, but we cannot be putting sanctions on people who may be opposed to actions of Russia as a state. It’s predictable. I always knew we were going to act in that way. The Bahamas has put itself in a position where we’ll be obliged to act because of how we’ve conducted ourselves in the past.”

Mr Moss, head of one of the few Bahamian-owned firms in the international financial services sector, spoke out after the financial services regulators - in a joint statement - said that given “due consideration to [the] interests of this jurisdiction and the financial services sector operating within it” they had to ban all dealings with those sanctioned by the US, UK, Canada and European Union (EU).

“The agencies comprising the group of financial services regulators (GFSR) hereby direct regulated entities that are licensed or authorised to operate from or within The Bahamas not to engage in transactions with sanctioned persons, entities or businesses linked to Russia and Belarus,” said the statement.

“Regulated entities should apply the highest level of risk management controls to deter the potential for any misuse of the Bahamian financial system in the current global environment and, indeed, every circumstance.” The statement was issued on behalf of the Central Bank, Securities Commission, Insurance Commission, Gaming Board and Compliance Commission.

The Central Bank, in a further statement, said this action was designed to “prohibit business activities with parties sanctioned by the US and other identified western countries in response to the war in Ukraine.

“The Attorney General has also published directions for the financial services regulators to report information from supervised financial institutions on any exposures to a list of parties named in sanctions.” It is unclear whether the prohibition includes a freeze on assets already in The Bahamas, but the nature of the release’s wording suggests it does.

The Attorney General’s Office, in a separate statement, listed 22 individuals - including Roman Abramovich, owner of the UK’s Chelsea football club - as well as 99 private and public Russian and Belarus entities now subject to sanctions.

It has instructed all regulators to “request their licensees and registrants to perform a search of their database and register of beneficial owners for any of the individuals or entities named”, with such findings to be referred to the Attorney General’s Office.

Mr Moss said the database search will have little impact for Bahamian financial services provider as they do similar “just about every day” to ensure no names of individuals sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, such as persons affiliated with al Qaida or ISIS, appear in their client database.

“I don’t think it will impact us at all,” he added. “You’ll find The Bahamas is not that big a place to have Russian clients, although we do have them. I’m not sure it will be impactful as such. Blanket across the country, I don’t think we’re going to find too many people from Russia who are on that list.”

The Bahamas, as a major international financial centre (IFC), has come under growing pressure from the US, its major trading partner, to act in imposing sanctions over the Ukraine invasion. The Davis administration had been hoping to act in concert with other CARICOM members, but has now moved on its own after a common position failed to develop yet.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement last night, said the matter was “an evolving story and remains under active review”. It added that discussions with other CARICOM members continued.