The Caribbean Sends Clear Signals About Money Laundering

Contact: John Emmanuel

Friday, July 14, 2000 - Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Honourable Sir James Mitchell says the recent action by his government to revoke the licenses of half a dozen offshore financial banks, is part of regional response to stamp out the practice of money laundering in the Caribbean.

Sir James says regional states have enacted firm anti-money laundering legislation and are in no way providing a haven to perpetrators of the illegal activity, as alluded to by the recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report.

 “We have got to make sure we establish a proper international opinion of ourselves. In respect to money laundering, we have got to get the message out very clearly that we are not supporting any form of money laundering. What we are trying to do in the offshore sector, is to get more revenue into our countries, to get more employment opportunities into our countries without taxing our people any more,” Sir James said.

St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Kenny D. Anthony says while the region has a shared interest in dealing with money laundering, he is of the view that powerful forces operating within the international community are attempting to undermine and destroy altogether, the financial services sector in the region.

Dr. Anthony says the actions by the OECD is highly irregular and interferes with the fiscal and legislative powers of CARICOM states.

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