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Customs Department to take over alleged money laundering incident

Published: 4 April 2017

The Custom and Excise Division will be taking over the investigation into an alleged case of money laundering involving a male and a female who were intercepted at the VC Bird International Airport last Friday evening.

Lev Josiah of Paynters and Erica Thomas of Mount Joy were arrested by police and taken into custody.

They were intercepted by Airport Security, with over US $20,000 and almost EC $3,000 in their possession. The monies were seized and the matter handed over to the Customs department and the police.

Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Inspector Frankie Thomas told OBSERVER media yesterday that Erica Thomas was released pending further investigations, while Josiah remains in custody and will have to answer to the comptroller of Customs today.

Airport Security was conducting one of their routine security checks when they found Josiah with over US $18,000 and EC $785.

Thomas, on the other hand, was caught with the lesser amount, of over US $2,000 and EC $1750.

The two were booked to travel to St Maarten

Business, News, Regional News, Travel

Liat mum on call to axe management

Published: 4 April 2017

LIALPA President Captain Carl Burke (OBSERVER media photo)

The union representing Liat pilots is calling for the immediate removal of the airline’s top managers, amidst the implementation of a salary deferral system that was rejected by staff and the union, among other issues.

Yesterday, the airline’s communications department shied away from the media when asked to respond to the public call by the Leeward Islands Airlines Pilots Association’s (LIALPA’s) for its senior management team – led by acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Julie Reifer-Jones – to be sacked.

When OBSERVER media reached out to the airline for comment we were told that Liat would issue a response either today or later in the week.

In the meantime, in a press release dated April 2, 2017 LIALPA stated, “Unfortunately it has no other choice but to call on the shareholder governments to remove the current Liat management”.

Then, speaking on OBSERVER Radio on Monday, President of LIALPA Carl Burke said his union was also making a “cry to the public” for what the release termed “public pressure” to be put on the Board of Directors to fire the management.

LIALPA’s ire was, according to it, raised by the fact that the company did not pay salaries on time. The union stated, “When a company cannot pay salaries on time, then management must accept that they have failed and they should be removed.”

Burke said, “It’s not that I can say they can’t pay the staff, but they’ve moved so far down the priority list in terms of who should be paid when and at what time, that the staff is now at the bottom of the priority list.”

The union chief added, “Management refuses to accept responsibility for the sad state of the airline’s affairs, and instead is focusing on making the crew the scapegoats.”

LIALPA also used its release to disassociate itself from what Liat termed as “industrial unrest” that allegedly took place on Sunday. LIALPA’s release stated that the unrest “has nothing to do with LIALPA and we are not involved at all”.

He was referring to an earlier April 2, 2017 release in which Liat said the airline was “currently experiencing a number of delays and cancellations” due to the unrest.

Business, Entertainment, News, Regional News

Anguilla’s Festival Del Mar, the Caribbean’s best seafood festival

2016 Festival Del Mar crayfish

Published on March 29, 2017

THE VALLEY, Anguilla — One of the premier culinary festivals in the Caribbean, the tenth annual Festival Del Mar in Anguilla, is a must for any foodie – especially those with a penchant for seafood. Local lobster features prominently, as do crab, crayfish, octopus (sea cat), fried fish, and grilled fish of many varieties.

Festival Del Mar, celebrated on Easter weekend, commemorates Anguilla’s seafaring heritage and celebrates all things of the sea in the beautiful fishing village of Island Harbour, located on the eastern tip of the island. This little fishing village has remained largely untouched by tourism and still maintains its local vibe, with colorful boats bobbing in the blue harbor and a fishing pier jutting out to catch schooners and fishing boats, much as it was in the early 1900s.

Traditional cooking and culinary competitions, deep sea fishing competitions, swimming races, volley ball exhibitions and crab races are all “on the menu” for this fun-filled celebration, along with two days of live music and boat racing, the island’s national pastime. This year will see the addition of a water park, which will add to the fun, along with a wading pool for children.

The atmosphere is casual and visitors are invited to wear their swimsuits in case they want to take a dip in the sea. There are also plenty of tented areas for lounging out of the sun and domino games are played throughout the afternoons. The musical headliner will be gospel and country artist Pat Ross who has drawn crowds to the festival in previous years.

Festival Del Mar serves a dual purpose, providing the Anguillian people with the opportunity to celebrate their rich history and offering visitors a window into Anguilla’s unique cultural traditions.

Business, Local news, Regional News

Feasibility study confirms geothermal potential of St Kitts

Published on March 29, 2017

At the meeting, from left Joseph Williams; Dr Devon Gardner; Dr Vince Henderson; Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd; Jacques Chouraki

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (SKNIS) — A feasibility study done by Teranov, a French engineering and services company for new and renewable energy based in Guadeloupe, has confirmed that there is potential in St Kitts to develop at least 18 to 36 megawatts of geothermal power.

Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of geothermal stakeholders in St Kitts from March 21- 22, minister of public infrastructure, Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd, hailed the findings as “heartening” but that the government has to consider the way forward.

Liburd said that the meeting was convened with other stakeholder representatives including Dr Vince Henderson, ambassador of Dominica to the United States; Jacques Chouraki, president of Teranov; Dr Devon Gardner, programme manager for energy at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat; Joseph Williams, sustainable energy advisor at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB); representatives from the St Kitts Electricity Company Ltd (SKELEC), ministry of finance, Office of the Attorney General, and private sector “as it relates to solidifying our roadmap in respect of our geothermal development here on St Kitts and in Nevis with particular focus on the development on St Kitts.”

“We have so far done the 3G studies — the geological, geophysical and geochemical studies or the surface studies… there is potential on St Kitts to develop at least 18 to 36 megawatts of geothermal power and that’s heartening for us here in St Kitts and Nevis,” said Liburd, while indicating that the next step is to consider the way forward for slim-hole and exploration drilling.

Liburd said that the government received a draft geothermal agreement from its partners for which Cabinet decided that there should be an independent review. According to the minister, the government consulted with the CARICOM and the CDB.

“Where we are right now in terms of the next steps, next set of actions and timelines, we have agreed today that we would restructure the geothermal agreement and we have put a timeline on that to be completed by the end of June this year. We also have agreement in terms of the provision of a business plan and financial model from Teranov. We would in terms of the joint venture company arrangements consider the shareholder agreement issues that deal with decision-making; and the commercial issues are key business points in some reform and indeed we did agree on the way forward as it relates to… development of this resource on St Kitts,” Liburd said.

He said it was necessary to have further discussions because any agreement signed off on has to bear in mind that government owns the land, the utility called SKELEC and the government will own the resource.

Liburd said that whatever comes out of the agreement has to “ensure we protect the best public interest” and “there must be real benefit for the end consumer.

In November 2015, Teranov began geothermal exploration exercises in the Sandy Point area around Brimstone Hill, going to the top of Mount Liamigua. Five geo-scientists were in St Kitts conducting feasibility studies in geophysics, geology and geochemistry.

President of Teranov, Jacques Chouraki, said then that the prospects for geothermal energy on St Kitts were promising.

In September 2015, Liburd signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Teranov, which includes a road map that can possibly see the production of geothermal energy in 2020.

Liburd has underscored the point that fossil fuel costs are very exorbitant and that “if we are going to continue our development and if we are going to ensure economic growth” that the government must adopt a policy of renewable energy because “we are blessed with sunshine, we are blessed with wind and in the federation of two islands we have two volcanoes.”

Business, Crime/Justice, International news, Local news

US slams St Kitts-Nevis in money laundering and financial crimes report

Published on March 29, 2017

By LK Hewlett

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (WINN) — A US State Department report claims that St Kitts and Nevis “remains susceptible to corruption and money laundering and its deficient vetting of citizenship by investment candidates is also problematic”.

The scathing report, released in March, attributes the country’s susceptibility to corruption and money laundering to “the high volume of narcotics trafficking around the islands”.

On the matter of alleged weaknesses with the St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment (CBI) program, the State Department said, “St Kitts and Nevis derives a significant portion of its revenue from its program offering citizenship through investment; however, this program’s prior lax vetting created anti money laundering and security vulnerabilities domestically and internationally. Despite recent efforts to improve the application process and vetting procedures, the CIP continues to be afflicted by significant deficiencies in vetting candidates and conducting due diligence on passport and citizenship recipients after they receive citizenship.”

The report went on to charge that St Kitts and Nevis did not report passage of new enforcement legislation or prosecutions in 2016, and there have been no money laundering prosecutions or convictions since 2013.

The US government did acknowledge the fact that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is engaging St Kitts and Nevis to evaluate if recent CBI improvements sustainably address US anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism concerns.

The report was also critical of the offshore sector in Nevis, saying financial oversight in Nevis remains problematic due to the federation allowing the creation of anonymous accounts, strong bank secrecy laws, and overall lack of transparency of beneficial ownership of legal entities.

It read, “The ambiguous regulatory framework regarding customer due diligence makes Nevis a desirable location for criminals to conceal proceeds.”

The US government advised that the government of St Kitts and Nevis should work toward transparency and accountability in financial regulation; and promote close supervision of the CBI program and be transparent in reporting monitoring results.

Republished with permission of West Indies News Network