Risk and Regulatory Forum

Lignum Vitae

Lignum Vitae - "Tree of life"

Regulations & Legislations

MSBs Author: Hubert Edwards Date: May, 2008 read article > Why should my bank care who I am? Author: V Gordon Julien Date: November, 2006 I think it is timely to pause to consider recent changes impacting the delivery of financial services and the nature of the relationship between the customer and their financial institution of choice. You may have noticed that your recent visits to your financial institution were dramatically different from your experience five to 10 years ago which may have prompted you to ask “Why should my bank care who I am and what I do?”; “Why should they care about my financial affairs if I am only seeking to open an account?”. read article >

SOME IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS AND ASPECTS WITH RESPECT TO THE SUPERVISION OF MONEY TRANSFER COMPANIES IN ARUBA Author: R.J. Ridderstap Date: September 21, 2005 Growth in the number of money transfer companies Aruba has experienced an economic boom during the 1990’s, particularly in the tourism sector. Many foreign workers, especially from Latin America and the Caribbean, immigrated to Aruba to work mainly in the construction and tourism sector. In general, these foreign workers make use of the services of the money transfer companies to send monies to their relatives in their country of origin. Consequently, the number of companies engaged in money transfer activities have increased progressively. This development raised concerns, especially since this sector is vulnerable for illicit activities. read speech >

THE US PATRIOT ACT – IS IT ALL BAD? Author: Hubert Edwards Date: April 2005 In recent times there has been much discussion on the effect that the US Patriot Act (“the Act”) could have on Caribbean jurisdictions, especially those with offshore financial centers. This topic also seems to generate a significant amount of emotion. At a seminar in 2002, the presenter, an American lawyer, responding to questions stated that, relative to the Act, it is the geo-political power of the United States of America at work. To paraphrase his statement: the US is large enough and has the political influence to make demands on countries like the Bahamas. This response led to a few participants walking out. Unfortunately he could have not been any more accurate. read more >

Presentation Topic: BASEL II AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Author: Hubert Edwards Date: November 2004 Venue: BICA View presentation >

Presentation Topic: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Author: Hubert Edwards Date: December 9th, 2003 Venue: Firm X Partners and Managers Workshop Turnberry Isles Resort & Club Florida, USA View presentation>

THE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD CONCEPT AND THE OECD HARMFUL TAX COMPETITION INITIATIVE Author: Hubert Edwards Date: June 2003 A recent article carried in the Tribune titled “OECD fails to progress on ‘level playing field’”, pointed to the fact that the OECD initiative has been significantly undermined by the recent compromised agreement on the European Union (EU) Savings Tax Directive. The article goes on to point out that The Bahamas continues to monitor the situation but that serious uncertainties have been created by the failure of the EU to recognized any of its members as having potentially harmful tax regimes. The question is who can fault the EU? To reconcile ourselves to the fact that EU members may also have harmful tax regime is to accept the notion that the Bahamas and similar offshore jurisdictions are also potentially harmful. This position would therefore support the OECD’s and hence begs the question as to why we argue to the contrary. read more >

TOWARDS A NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR MONEY TRANSFER COMPANIES Author: R.J. Ridderstap Date: February 21, 2003 On the occasion of the official inauguration of the new office building of Union Caribe Holding N.V., This afternoon I will elaborate on the operational guidelines issued for money transfer companies by the Bank in anticipation of a law that will bring these companies under its effective supervision. Also, I will briefly touch on relevant international developments and their effects on this sector. At the end of my speech, a few observations on the introduction of the law will be made. But, let me first give you some background information. read speech >

THE IRS OFFSHORE VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE INITIATIVE – IMPLICATIONS FOR OFFSHORE FINANCIAL SERVICES PRACTITIONERS Author: Hubert Edwards Date: January 2003 On January 14, 2003 the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) unveiled the details of its Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative (“the initiative’). In summary, under the initiative, eligible taxpayers who voluntarily declare to have undertaken past underreporting (read tax evasion) of their United States (US) income tax liability by using offshore financial arrangements (foreign banks, corporations, trust, etc) or payment cards (debit, credit, etc.) will possibly avoid civil or criminal prosecution. These persons have until April 15th 2003 to apply to the IRS. This programme, lauded by IRS personnel as sound tax administration designed to root out tax evasion, carries with it some very serious implications for offshore jurisdictions. So much like the cleverly crafted Patriot Act, the initiative comes armed with the ability to catch the proverbial horse that has escaped while attempting to effectively lock the gate. read more>

CREDIT UNIONS: FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE Author: Rudolf J. Ridderstap Date: September 28th, 2000 Looking at the recent history, we may say that representatives of the Catholic Church have stimulated the establishment and promotion of the parochial credit unions in the early sixties. These institutions, which were established for a statutory period of thirty years, provided small consumer loans at reasonable cost to relatively low income persons. In this way, they have supported the financial well-being of their members, also by encouraging them to save. read speech >