A GUY'S VIEW: Fighting an uphill battle with no support
“YOU never really know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks.” – Eskimo proverb.
NEWS has broken that Barbados is about to be blacklisted for its non-compliance with anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism standards. For some unknown reason, this seems to be a mystery to concerned persons here.
Truth be told, Barbados will continue to face this challenge as long as it seeks to satisfy “international” standards while maintaining some element of an economic strategy which seeks to attract business from Europe or the United States of America.
“International” is emphasized here because this term is used to mask Europe and America. I well remember an Attorney General of Barbados asking a meeting attended by the Financial Action Task Force, the World Bank and all of the world’s superpowers, whether Barbados was included in the term international community. As one might guess, that question was never answered.
The level of detail which would be necessary to explain what this country faces in this regard may not be suitable for this space, but one example might help. In a previous dispensation, Barbados had to try to convince its examiners that the protocol which was developed for countries that possessed nuclear weapons should not apply to this country. They never accepted it, so the country was given a failing grade on that measure. This tells you that the country is not being measured on its ability to control money laundering or the financing of terrorism, but on other standards.
What Barbados needs is the confidence and ability to overhaul its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism system to ensure that it can keep the country relatively safe from such crimes and can support cross-border investigations. The right departments also need to be properly resourced. Beyond that, do no more. Inevitably, that will be met with pressure, but a careful calculation of what is possible must be made. We will never be able to satisfy all the requirements asked of us without dismantling our international business sector, what remains of it, and our criminal justice system.
Some years ago, former Prime Minister Arthur led a charge to resist the efforts of the same players that are arrayed against us now to destroy our international business sector. His approach was to solicit the support of other small countries around the world that were facing a similar challenge and build a coalition. That was a fairly successful effort because they were able to show the bullies the hypocrisy of what they were doing. But conscience is dead now.
A similar strategy may be considered now, but one doubts that it would have the same level of success. Even in the Caribbean alone, it is every man for himself. When Barbados presented a good case for itself in the past, it was Caribbean countries and organisations that did their best to undermine our efforts. Sometimes your assassin is the one smiling in your face.
What we are being forced to do is to become an overseas police post for Europe and America. Some other countries have no problem with that status, so they are fine. Some organisation merely has to send them an e-mail of a new law or amendments to their existing law and they are quite happy to take it to parliament and implement it.
Barbados has a different history. A decision must be made on whether we will maintain our character or simply toe the line. This fight will not go away anytime soon. They intend to wear us down, so we have to stop applying plasters to wounds and figure out how to heal ourselves. “Death by a thousand cuts” is how one Caribbean official described what is happening to us.
Beyond doing police work for Europe and America, it is intended that we must have no usefulness. No consideration is given to what is in the best interest of Barbados. What is in the interest of the international community is the mantra, and we are expected to chant it.
In pursuit of foreign interests, Barbados and other Caribbean countries are required to change their laws so as to remove any protection for persons who may be accused, hence, abolishing the concept of innocence until guilt is proven. If our legal system requires that certain elements of a crime be proved, but another country with lower standards does not require it, we must disregard our law or change it to meet their requirements.
When we had little or no money laundering cases, we were told that we were not recording cases because our systems were inadequate. In our wisdom, we decided that we had to record some cases. When we had a few manufactured cases, we were told that we are a money laundering jurisdiction. It is estimated that between $2 to $3 trillion is laundered annually around the world. And no one has asked how the money laundered in Barbados compares with what is laundered in the financial capitals of the world.
It is against this background that Barbados’ anti-money laundering fight must be seen. After we have done everything that they want, then there will be something else. This will continue until we are beggars, dependent on aid. The fight cannot be won without going to war.
But many of the countries that are strangling us say that they are friends of Barbados.