And we go back now to the Prime Minister's press conference, which, as we said, was loaded with news. He addressed the issue of the European Union blacklisting Belize. As we told you last night, it's because of IMMARBE – which sells the Belizean flag to high seas vessels in international waters. The EU correctly says that IMMARBE does not police the fleet, and because of that Belize was blacklisted. Today the Prime Minister said he is confident that Government can make adjustment in the laws to satisfy the Europeans:
Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"We will very quickly pass or promulgate the regulations. What they are saying is, 'You've passed the Act and that's fine, but there must be regulations under the Act that will then create the monitoring infrastructure, and then you must operationalize the infrastructure.' I am telling you that we will do that, but I've said before, and I will say again ultimately, if we have to de-register the entire fishing fleet, we will do that. It is not a step that you likely take because it is earning revenue for the Government, but at the end of the day, we will do whatever we have to. The possible consequences of the EU action don't extend to anything other than the fisheries product of the fishing fleet, you know. It doesn't affect our shrimp, doesn't affect anything else. So, while it is serious, and we're taking it seriously - and we will deal with it - don't let us get us carried away."
And while the PM kind of brushed that one off, he couldn't be so dismissive with the grim warning from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. Last week, the CFATF issued a release listing Belize as one of the countries that quote, "have not complied with their Action Plan…to address…deficiencies (in their laws)." Now, this is after Belize passed over a dozen pieces of legislation in October to become compliant. But, it's not enough and the task force is threatening to disrupt Belize's onshore banking industry if the country doesn't comply with these offshore requirements. Now, the regulations are about combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but the Prime Minister says it's also about big countries trying to bring down the hammer on the offshore industries of small countries:..
Hon. Dean Barrow
"The draftsperson who operates as legal counsel to the Ministry of Finance has been given the job to go back over the list of - I can't say requests - demands from these people, and has been given a mandate to produce the additional legislation that we need, and to do the additional things that we need, by February. We will go the House, certainly by the end of January, with the new legislation drafted and ready to be passed. We recognize that these big countries, and that their proxies, their agencies are all powerful, and collapse our system, so we can complain. We can denounce them, but the fact is that ultimately, we have to recognize where the power lies. On the other hand, we have people in the financial services sector; we have people in the offshore sector that are saying to us, 'If you go as far as these people are demanding, you're going to shut down the industry.' So it's a huge balancing act that's required. Ultimately, I've said to the local people, 'Please, we will try as best we can to protect you as much as we are able, but in the end, recognize that the jig will soon be up. It may be unfair, but these people won't stop until they kill off our offshore sector. I will complain; I will lament; I will send up jeremiads; I will say that these people are taking advantage of us. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, we have no choice but to comply, and so, comply we will. The ramifications if we don't, where correspondent banks will cut off the relationships with local commercial banks, and ultimately, they can collapse our commercial banking sector, is something we can't contemplate. So, I can kick and scream, but I will do what they require there because I have no choice."
Email
Print